


Meeting the Family

by purplepen76



Series: Home Is Where the Pack Is [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Action, Alpha Derek, BAMF Melissa McCall, BAMF Stiles, Blood Magic, F/M, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Magic, Magical Danny Mahealani, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Minor Angst, Minor Violence, Mpreg, Multi, Nice Jackson, Pack Bonding, Pack Dad Derek Hale, Pack Family, Pack Mother Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Some Plot, Techno Magic, Worried Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-03
Updated: 2014-02-03
Packaged: 2017-12-28 06:45:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplepen76/pseuds/purplepen76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles and the rest of the pack have all graduated college and as promised, Derek rebuilt the old Hale house (now Manor) so every night is literally one big party. Of course with everything in his life settled, Stiles knows that the only thing that could make his life complete would be to have all of his family close. Of course, simply asking his dad and Melissa to move in with them would not be that simple. Pack silliness ensues and oh yeah, why is Isaac so sick aren't werewolves supposed to be immune? Also what's with the new hunter spottings and since when do hunters use magic?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been bouncing around in my mind for months now. It was meant to mostly be fluff, at least that was my intent, but then plot happened.

Not much had changed over the last six years in Beacon Hills. Not much as long as you overlooked the sudden spike in werewolves, hunters, kaname, witches, and that one terrible encounter with the fae, but no one really liked to mention it, so that was best left forgotten. No, despite all of the horrors that befell the small town, Stiles Stilinski still looked around his home with a certain fondness and a healthy dose of trepidation. Usually he found himself brimming with excitement when it came to visiting his Dad and Melissa, but today he found himself feeling more anxious then when he was on hunting missions with Allison and those usually ended up with Stiles hurt and being patched up by Deaton. Both the cruiser and Melissa’s beat up sedan were in the drive and he knew that his father had taken the day off, so pushing his nerves into the back of his mind, Stiles walked up to the front door and let himself in.

The first thing to catch Stiles’ attention was the slight signs coming from the living room. Eyes wide, he prayed that they were not doing what he thought that they were doing. Slowly, he crept into the room, one hand fixed firmly over his eyes.

“Uh hey guys, I’m home. Surprise?” Stiles called out louder than necessary, making sure to stop shuffling forward when he felt his other hand brush against the doorway to the living room. Hurried noises and cloth moving quickly made Stiles want to die, knowing all too well what he was interrupting.

“Jesus, Stiles!” He heard his father yelp, Melissa’s distinctive giggle making even more color rise to Stiles’ cheeks.

“I’ll, uh, be up in my old room. Take your time, or something.” Mumbling to himself more than to the two adults situating themselves, he turned around and opened his eyes, keeping them firmly aimed ahead as he all but ran up to his old room, managing to get up the flight of stairs without even tripping once.

Once he was safely on the second floor, Stiles allowed his heart to slow back to normal. He could feel Derek through their bond, gently attempting to ease his mate even though he had no idea what was bothering him. When they had first mated properly, Derek had nearly killed himself to be by Stiles’ side every time the young man’s heart rate went above even slightly normal and soon found that like everything else in his personality, Stiles often overreacted which meant that as his mate, Derek had to differentiate between a dangerous spike or just another stubbed toe. Thinking of his mate made him smile and soon he found himself walking down the hall slowly. No matter how many times he had visited the happy couple he was still amazed at how much the relationship was a positive influence on his Dad. The bland wallpaper from his childhood was missing. Melissa had taken her eye for design to making over the whole house, now pictures of Stiles and Scott (pre-bite for the latter so there were actual pictures of his non-reflective eyes) were placed down the hallway.

Smiling to himself, Stiles pushed the door open to his old room. Four months ago, when he had moved to the Hale Manor permanently, Melissa had still asked his permission to change it into her own personal craft room. As it turned out, when she wasn’t worrying about her werewolf son or looking after all of the townsfolk that got hurt from the various supernatural beings that randomly blew through town, Melissa was quite good at making things. She usually could be found at her sewing table, working on a skirt for Lydia or a jacket for Isaac. Sometimes she was sitting in the warn armchair in the corner, croquetting a new scarf for Allison. Ever since she had learned that Stiles was taking lessons from Deaton to keep the pack safe, she had gone to the emissary and had him teach her ways to create protective spells woven into clothing made for the pact. The fewer she saw her sons or any of the pups in the hospital the better for her heart and stress levels. Stopping at the sewing machine, he glimpsed a length of red fabric and on closer inspection he realized it was well on its way to becoming a new red hoody. Smiling despite the cliche joke, Stiles couldn’t wait to wear his newest hoody, pack teasing aside.

Knowing that their parents would probably take longer than Stiles would care to think about, he took out his phone, making himself comfortable in the old armchair, and gave his good ol’ step-brother a call. Scott picked up on the first ring. Now wasn’t that weird?

“What’s wrong?”

“Hello to you too, sunshine.” Stiles rolled his eyes, nearly hearing his pup relax on the other end. Even with his humanity in tack, being the alpha’s mate had its advantages. Through his bond with Derek he was able to tap into the emotions of his pups more than he would normally been able to which did wonders in making them all call him pack mom, something Stiles both loved and hated.

“Well there’s no way you were able to talk to our parents that quickly so something must be wrong.” Scott reasoned in a way that had only taken him twenty-two years to achieve. That was okay though, Stiles still loved him.

“Let me talk to him!” A wine in the background reminded Stiles that the whole reason why Scott wasn’t with him was because of the golden pup most likely making grabby hands at the phone.

“Tell Isaac he can have my full attention when I get home, but I do actually need to talk to you.” A short conversation that consisted mostly of growls and whines ended with Scott clearing his throat and a door being slammed.

“This better be worth it Stiles, you know how long it took me to get him to be happy this morning?” Stiles grimaced and nodded, knowing that Scott would be able to sense his apology through the pack’s strong bond.

“It is. I just wanted to let you know to avoid the house for a while. Our parents were doing it like werewolves in heat in the living room.”

“OH MY GOD STILES.” Scott screeched which brought a nearly soft smile to Stiles’ mouth, had it not been boarding on maniacal.

“Good, now I won’t be the only one having nightmares! Promise Isaac that I’ll bake his favorite cake for dessert tonight, that should cheer him up!”

“I _hate_ you, Stiles.” Scott groaned, clicking the phone and ending the conversation. Chuckling to himself, Stiles pocketed his phone only to look up and see the parents in question standing at the door. Melissa looked amused, but his father could hardly meet his eyes.

“Busted?” Stiles didn’t know how he was in trouble in this situation, but by the shake of her head, Melissa had heard that whole phone call and he knew he’d have to apologize. There was just something about the McCall’s and that look that they get, even pre-werewolf Scott had used it many times to guilt Stiles into just about anything. “Sorry about that.” Stiles did his best to actually sound genuine and Melissa just shook her head again.

“And what do we owe for this pleasure?” Stiles wasn’t sure he liked the glint in her eye when she said pleasure, but he let it go.

“I actually came over to talk to you guys about something, but maybe we should go downstairs and I’ll make some coffee? This could take a while.” Stiles did his best to will his returning nerves back, but it did little to help. After nearly running through the living room, glaring at every surface within, Stiles let his ever moving hands get to work on the coffee while his mind buzzed off on its own.

“Any time you’d like to join us, Stiles.” The first sound from his father since he’d shown up caused Stiles to stop is fidgeting, turning to see that both Melissa and his Dad had cups of coffee and that Stiles’ own was sitting at the table. Blinking in surprise, he looked down, realizing that he was making good work on cleaning up the counters and he had apparently started on reorganizing the cupboards.

“Uh yeah, sure.” He laughed, running his hand through his hair in a way that drove his mate crazy. _Good, think about Derek, that will help._ Taking another deep breath. Stiles took his seat and stared down his parents.

“So I’m guessing this is more than a social call, is everyone okay?” Always straight to the point, Melissa put her mug down, gently grasping at Stiles’ hand in her own.

“Everyone is fine, well Isaac has been feeling a bit under the weather and driving Scott and Allison nuts, but beyond that everyone is fine.”

“Okay that’s good, so what has you so shaken up?” The kind smile from his step-mom gave Stiles the courage he needed to start what was going to be a very long conversation.

“Well, I had a long conversation with the pack and we, as a whole, were wondering if you would like to move into the Manor?”

“You were nervous to ask us that?” John looked more than a little confused, but once again Melissa seemed to understand the implications.

“Would moving in mean that we would have to become pack? What would the move involve beyond us just physically being there?”

“Well that’s the thing.” Stiles sighed, as much as he would love to have his dad and Melissa closer, he had been hoping that they would refuse and he wouldn’t have to go through the long diatribe. “You wouldn’t need to be pack necessarily, though it would be easier. It would be a process to move you in, but it has it’s perks. You would need to spend more time at the Manor for now, just making sure that everyone’s wolves is comfortable with the two of you. From there it wouldn’t be so hard, but moving in with a pack, especially if you don’t intend on becoming pack, is a bit like starting a relationship. If you wanted to be pack then it would obviously involve more, but not the bite, that’s only for those who want it and that also comes with it’s dangers.”

“Okay, I see. So what practices would we need to get accustom to?” John asked, now understanding the reason for his son’s nerves. If they decided to move in, while he would be closer to his son, if things didn’t go well with the pack then it would put a huge strain on their relationship.”

“Well first you would come visit the house, at first it’s not going to take much, but that is only if you want to. I mean of course you’re allowed to visit even if you didn’t want to move in, it’s just a bit of a drive is all and I understand that you don’t have a lot of free time, and your jobs and the commute might be another issue, I never really thought of that and-”

“Stiles, slow down.” Melissa laughed taking his hand again and slowly taking his empty coffee mug from him. “We would love to come and visit, why don’t we start there?”

“Oh, I never thought of that.” Stiles let the stress flow from him as Melissa drew circles on his hand with her thumb. It felt like one of his pups leaching away his pain and the realization made him feel both better and uneasy. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?” The genuine look of confusion on his step-mom’s face made Stiles pause.

“Nothing, why don’t I call Derek and let them know that you’ll be over, say this weekend?”

“Sure, we’re both off on Sunday, does that work?”

“Yeah, Sunday sounds great! Come over hungry, I’m going to be making a huge dinner.” Stiles stood, placing his cup in the sink.

“Let me walk you out, Son.” An encouraging smile from Melissa did not go unnoticed to Stiles and he knew that the conversation with his father was far from over. It wasn’t until they reached the front of the house, by the closed door, that John stopped to look at his son.

“Is this what you want?” Stiles smiled, pulling his father into a hug.

“Of course it is, it’s just a process. If the two of you were to move out there with us that would make things so much easier on me and Scott, and really everyone. I worry about you guys, we’re not able to get straight to you if something were to go wrong and that stress, it leaks into the pack and I know that it’s something that we’ve all discussed over and over-”

“But?”

“But the Manor is so far into the woods, it’s on the actual center of Hale territory and I don’t know how you’d be able to keep your job, it’s just a long drive and I don’t want you or Melissa to feel like you have to move in just because I want you to.”

“Melissa and I are grown adults, we won’t be doing anything that we don’t want to.” John chuckled and pulled back from his son. “If that’s what you’re worried about, don’t. Like Melissa said, why don’t we go for a visit and see where things go, I know I’ve been wanting to see this Manor you’ve been going on and on for in the past few years.”

“Okay Dad, promise?”

“Promise, now go on, all of you’re worrying is probably driving Derek mad.”

“Thanks Dad.” Stiles grinned finally feeling better about the whole situation. In actuality, him feeling so nervous over the whole thing was actually incredibly ridiculous. The pack as a whole had been on edge recently, what with Isaac feeling off and it seemed to be unsettling Stiles more than the rest.

Isaac had been feeling ill for just under a week now and while Derek had told them all not to worry for the first few days, it was starting to show on the alpha’s face that he was also confused and concerned. Part of the reason why Stiles had come into town was to talk to his dad and Melissa and the other part was to see Deaton to see if the emissary could help in any way. At first the pack had thought that it was to do with the full moon, it wasn’t unheard of for werewolves to feel off around the new moon which was when it all seemed to start. Silently, Stiles prayed to whatever beings were listening that Deaton would be able to provide them with answers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deaton makes an appearance and we finally get to see the whole pack with pack mom!Stiles feels!

“I’m sorry, say that again?” Stiles was pretty sure that he had lost all sense of hearing, or possibly his sanity, because he sure as hell did no hear what he thought he just heard.

“You heard me.” The smile Deaton was giving him was half amused and half indulgent.

"No I didn't because I _thought_ I heard you say that Isaac is most likely pregnant."

"That's exactly what you heard." The bemused smile never leaving the emissary's face.

"Are we forgetting the fact that Isaac is, oh I don't know, a man!" Arms flailing in a complete parody of his younger self, he hardly noticed how the man seemed to sober.

"This is really a conversation we should be having with the pack, I don't even know for sure if he is pregnant and I wont be able to tell you until I see him."

"But even if he could," tripping over the words, Stiles simply ignored using it, something Deaton had the grace to ignore in turn, "wouldn't Derek know? I mean he was born a werewolf, shouldn't he know these things?"

"Not necessarily. The Hale pack, for as long as I have been their emissary, has always been a pack of blood related relatives. Even so, male pregnancy was very rare then and would be even more now." The thought _if the fire never happened_ hung between them in the air like smoke, choking up Stiles’ lungs and making his eyes sting, "there were no homosexual relationships in the pack, not for any reason beyond no one within the family having a preference to their own gender. Derek was still a teenager when he lost his family, my guess is was that Talia, in all of her good characteristics, was often too busy running her pack and negotiating with others like Kali and Deucalion to have the time to sit her son down and ask him about his sexul prefences. Even still, it's very difficult for a male werewolf to get pregnant. Both males have to be particularly powerful and the intent has to be there."

"Intent?" Stiles found that the more he thought of Isaac possibly having a child the more excited he felt. He and Derek had been talking about the possibility of cubs in the pack. With their tri-relationship, Allison, Scott, and Isaac had been talking about having kids, though there were dangers to having a human female carry a possible werebaby. They had been talking about starting a family for nearly half a year and they had even come to Derek and Stiles to ask their opinion not too long ago. Deaton's words suddenly made a lot of sense. “Oh.”

“Scott came to me about two months ago, asking about the risks Allison might have if she were to carry his or Isaac’s child.” The calm demeanor Deaton was giving off was enough to make Stiles climbs the walls.

“And you didn’t think to tell him of the risks for him and Isaac?” Sure his voice might have been bordering on screeching, but if asked after he would firmly defend that he made a manly growl.

“Why would I? He was asking about Allison, I had no way of knowing that he and Isaac weren’t using protection, too.” The little shrug and half smile told Stiles all he needed to know. The vet was telling the truth.

“Okay, so when do you want to come to the Manor? I don’t think I can keep something like this to myself.” Noticing then that his hands were making jerky gestures of their own accord, Stiles knew that there was no possible way for him to keep a secret this big from his pups, much less Derek. One look and his mate would have the truth out of him before he even knew he was speaking. No, Deaton would have to come back with him that night if he planned on not making a mess of things. Sensing that, or possibly reading his mind (Stiles still cannot find proof to support or deny that the enigmatic emissary was telepathic) Deaton made for the sign on the door, switching it to ‘closed’.

“How about now?”

“It’s like you were reading my mind.” Stiles commented dryly, the quirk of Deaton’s mouth and the glint in his eye doing absolutely nothing to dispel Stiles’ wild theories as Derek often referred to them as.

“Good, give me the keys, I’m driving.”

“Hey, I’m totally okay to drive!” Again, Stiles will maintain when he tells the pack later that it was not a screech, but a manly growl.

“Emissaries don’t let alpha’s mates drive under stress.”

“First of all the phrases is ‘friends don’t let friends drive drunk’. Second of all I resent that, you’re only looking out for your own hide!”

“I would have never survived this long otherwise.” The toothy grin made Stiles wonder for the millionth time if maybe Deaton really wasn’t all that human. With a great big huff and a little grumbling for added variation, Stiles shoved the keys toward the vet before leading the way to his beat up jeep. “Derek will rebuild his childhood home, but he won’t buy you a new car?”

“Hey! Jessie is a classic, don’t listen to him baby.” Stiles glared before cooing to the hood. “And Derek tried, but the pups ended up claiming the car for themselves.” Deaton ignored the whine in Stiles’ voice, but when the two climbed into the jeep and he started her up, he could not ignore the whine in the engine.

“Stiles this thing is a death trap! Why won’t you let Derek at least fix her up!” Despite his complaining, Deaton was dutifully backing up from his shop and merging onto the road. It was late afternoon and like just about every hour during every season, Beacon Hills was quiet. It was actually impressive how the general public had no idea that the supernatural lurked around every corner, just waiting to expose themselves to the ignorant humans.

“How about this? You manage to tell my pups and Derek that Isaac could possibly be pregnant without starting a riot, or needing my help to calm them all down, and I’ll let Derek make some minor adjustments on Jessie.” The look on Stiles’ face clearly read that he felt this was more than fair, though Deaton could hardly see how.

“Only if I can determine what minor means.” The scowl on the younger man’s face almost made him grin, but he knew antagonizing him would go nowhere good and despite his more annoying qualities, Stiles was fiercely loyal and honest to a fault. That was, in fact, how Deaton was in this mess in the first place. Stile could never keep a secret, but he always kept his word.

“Deal.” They spent the rest of the ride with Stiles chattering on about nothing in particular with Deaton ‘hmming’ whenever the boy paused long enough to breathe. He was sure that this was Stiles’ way of getting rid of stress and pent-up energy, but he never could understand how the vibrant boy and silent alpha made their relationship work. Sure he could see the chemistry. Even Scott had noticed before the two had gotten together, which is truly saying something. Despite the obvious attraction, he still couldn’t see how two completely different people could not only come together, but also raise a healthy and thriving pack.

If Jessie’s motor wasn’t a dead give away, the werewolves of the pack would have been able to sense Stiles’ agitation from the time that they made it into the Hale woods. It was a minor miracle that the entire pack wasn’t there to greet them at the gate, instead a sour-faced Derek stood with his arm crossed and his expression hard. As soon as he saw the beat up car, the tension in his shoulders gave and a small smile crept on to his face. When the car came to a complete stop, Stile threw open the door and propelled himself at his mate, who caught him as if he had known what Stiles was going to do. Watching how easily the two moved around one another, Deaton would not have been surprised if the alpha had.

“Is everything okay?” All too aware that they had an audience, Derek used the close space of his mate wrapped in his arms to hide his worry. He knew that Deaton was a friend and that the days of needing to hide his emotions to protect himself were long gone, but old habits died hard and he still wasn’t comfortable with anyone outside of his pack seeing him when he felt weak.

“Yeah, sourwolf, everything is just fine. Dad and Melissa want to stop by on Sunday, we just need to make sure the pups are on their best behavior.” It was a joke, of course, the Sheriff and Melissa were both more than used to the group and their antics, but still Stiles worried that his wild pack might scare off the two most important people outside of the pack and that was just not an option.

“I’m sure your pup wants to know why he’s feeling so sick. Maybe we should take this inside?”

“Of course, do you know what could be causing the illness?” The concern in Derek’s voice was near painful to the two humans. As always be blamed the pain of his pack on himself.

“I do, but like I said, we might want to go where there are no prying ears.” The uptake in Stiles’ heart rate made Derek pause, but he opened the gate that lead to the large expanse of land surrounding the manor. It was a precaution to keep all cars off of the pack’s home land, only parking them around the back, leaving no large openings for an enemy to surprise them from.

It was a fairly large manor. Boasting four stories with a main house and two wings, Derek had wanted to build a home where all of his pups and his mate could feel comfortable while still keeping them all close. Because of lack of security around the old Hale House, the manor was built with the pack’s safety as top priority. The gate that surrounded the house had layers and layers of protection magic soaked into it that both Stiles and Deaton had seen to. Even the concrete that created the base of the manor had protective runes carved in, ensuring that a sneak attack on Derek’s family would never happen again.

Stiles managed to run in front of the pair, making it to the door before his mate. Throwing it open with all of his might, he was not surprised to find most of his pups hanging around the door.

“Mom!” Allison was the first the throw herself at him. Knowing that one of his pups was bound to be waiting for him, Stiles caught her with ease, gently placing a kiss on her hairline. He gave Lydia a half hug next, slowly making his way through all of his pups. The twins were waiting by the door to the living room, both smirking when Stiles pulled them in for a hug. Danny was next, high fiving him while Cora just shook her head, ruffling Stiles’ messy hair. Scott and Isaac were cuddle up on the loveseat, Stiles kissed his golden pup on the forehead before wrapping the two in a hug.

“Where’s Jackson?” All of Stiles’ pups looked around, seemingly unaware that their brother wasn’t with them.

“I think he’s upstairs?” Allison answered first, always the dutiful pup. “Want me to go get him?” A look from her pack mom was all she needed. Without another word she turned her imaginary tale and went to find the blond. Jackson had come back to Beacon Hills after his time at University. He hadn’t received a very warm welcome, but Stiles had taken him in with open arms. Ever since, the rest of the pack seemed to tip-toe around the boy, but Stiles was having none of it. He did everything in his power to make the boy feel at home and the two had become exceedingly close over the past few months. Stiles knew that his pups were whispering behind his back, it didn’t take heightened senses to know that his kids were feeling jealous.

“What’s wrong? We could all feel your agitation.” Lydia state, her tone clear that she was not taking no for an answer. Even though she, Allison, and Danny lacked the heightened senses that the werewolves had, the pack was getting stronger by the day and they were starting to pick up on some of the more base instincts. Stiles was able to sense even more because of his bond with Derek and his position as Pack Mom.

“It’s nothing to worry about, Deaton’s here now and he wants to talk to us about Isaac.”

“Hey, you’re home.” All conversation stopped when Jackson and Allison came down the stairs. They had their arms looped and the hunter seemed genuinely happy to have the boy around.

“Yup, how are you, pup?” The word still sounded foreign on Jackson’s ears, but Stiles seemed to use it like it rolled off the tongue. Untangling himself from the heap on the loveseat, Stiles wrapped his newest pup in a tight hug. “Come on, Deaton wants to talk to all of us.” Making himself comfortable in Derek’s chair, pulling the blond into his lap, Stiles got comfortable and his pups followed suit. Derek perched himself on the armrest next to Stiles, combing his hand through his and Jackson’s hair.

“So you said that you know what could be causing Isaac to feel sick?” Stiles held his breath as the emissary knelt by the golden pup, taking one of his hands in his own. Gently feeling for his pulse, he muttered words under his breath. Using his other hand, the emissary took runes from his pocket, chanting as he scryed.

“I think I know what the problem is, but I will need you to confirm, Derek. You see, I’m pretty sure that Isaac is pregnant.”

The noise level in the small room rose dramatically and instantly Deaton knew that he would not be winning his wager with the young alpha’s mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter! I'm sorry to leave it at such a crappy ending, I promise there will be actual stuff happening in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack finally figure out what's been making Isaac so sick and Stiles finally gets some alone time with Derek! (Sort of)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter has taken so long! I hope y'all enjoy it!

“You’re seriously trying to tell me that you think Isaac is pregnant?” Derek deadpanned, the pack silenced immediately at the sound of his voice. “Are we forgetting the part where Isaac is a man?”

“Now I see why you and Stiles work together.” Deaton’s comment made Stile snort, but the pack let it go, more focused on staring contest between the emissary and their alpha.

“Enough joking around, explain.” The commanding Alpha tone made the pups flinch, but Stiles sighed, rubbing his mate’s arm to calm him. It had been a very long time since the older alpha had needed to use that tone around his pups and they still fell back on old habits, growing steadily more uncomfortable by the growl in his voice.

“This is something that Talia should have told you.” The mention of his mother’s name made Derek still and Stiles shifted Jackson in his lap so he could move closer to his mate, allowing Derek to calm by his presence.

“What does my mother have to do with this?” The faked calm in Cora’s voice made Derek tense and Jackson shiver in Stiles’ lap. The pack mom did his best to comfort both his pup and his mate, grateful to see that Lydia and Danny were sitting by their sister, both leaning on Cora to give her what comfort they could.

“Talia was a great Alpha and a wonderful mother, but she didn’t explain some of the simple things to you, something that I always figured she would have more time to do. I never thought-”  Deaton paused knowing that he was treading on dangerous territory. “I never thought I would have to explain these things to the two of you.”

“Maybe I can help?” Stiles asked and the emissary looked grateful for the assistance. Even before he and Derek had become an official item, Stiles had always been keen on how the pack was feeling. It had been a major turn on for Derek to watch the younger man take care of his pups and at first had been the one thing that kept the two from fighting constantly, it had taken much too long and Danny and Ethan’s none too subtle help to get the pair together. It was still an incident that no one spoke of and at times Derek could be found glaring at the two, but Stiles always laughed it off, kissing the worry away from his mate. Now though, Stiles’ pups needed answers and getting lost in memories would have to wait. “From what I understand, in very, very, extremely rare circumstances, a male werewolf can become pregnant,”

“It can’t be that rare, can it?” Ever the one to thirst for knowledge, Lydia was the first to chime in. “Like are we talking stars aligning, or just you know Scott and Isaac have dumb luck?”

“Hey!” The shout in unison made Stiles laugh and it seemed to instantly lighten the mood.

“Well they would have had to conceive near a full moon, they both have to be very powerful, which we all know they are, and there had to be intent.”

“As in they had to want to be pregnant? But how could that be if they didn’t even know- oh.” Lydis seemed to get is just as the words left her mouth, her eyes wide. “Oh you two have the worst dumb luck.”

“Wait I don’t get it.” Scott whined and Allison was shaking her a completely shocked look on her face.

“He means that you both had to want to have a child, and you both do, except you were both thinking about having a child with me.” The words seemed to push the rusty gears in motion and both boys in question looked to come to the same conclusion at once.

“Oh.”

“I would think that about sums it up.”Deaton chuckled and Lydia rolled her eyes.

“Why do you need Derek to tell you for sure though?”

“Because I would be able to sense it.” Derek disentangled himself from Stiles’ grip. Carefully he picked his way through his pups, making sure to gently brush his hands through Cora’s hair, his sister leaning into the touch in response. Every morning Derek woke up grateful that his new family could at least include one member of his old family. When he finally made it to the loveseat, the twins parted ways to let him by and Derek settled on his knees, taking both of Isaac’s hands in his. Closing his eyes, he focused his senses on the single link that he knew was Isaac’s. Differentiating between which of his pups and their unique bond had taken time, but with Stiles’ help to strengthen the bonds it had become much easier over time and now he hardly had to think about connecting to every single one of them. Blocking out all of the feelings of his other pups, Derek took a calming breath and let the bond flow through him. It took less than a minute to feel that something was off, the bond was different in a way that Derek himself had never experienced, but there was no mistaking what it meant. “You’re pregnant.” The words left his mouth and they sounded surprised even to Derek. Before he could prepare himself, Derek found himself enveloped in a bone crushing hug from Scott and Isaac. The rest of the pack was surrounding them in seconds and not for the first time Derek found himself on the group completely crushed by the love of his pups.

“Someone better be making sure that Isaac is okay under there.” Stiles was smiling and standing back with Deaton. There was mad shuffling to make sure that the mom-to-be was okay and Deaton couldn’t help but chuckle.

“That was not a fair bet, you know your pups too well.” Stiles shrugged, not seeming to care that he had been a little underhanded.

“And you knew that already, so what does that make you?” The shit-eating grin on Stiles’ face made the emissary wonder just why he put up with such a load of children.

* * *

Derek closed the door to his and Stiles’ room with a great big sigh. “I am too old for this.” The complaint fell on deaf ears. After Deaton had left the pack had been filled with buzzing energy. They had a huge family dinner, which was customary for the weekend, but after they had piled back into the living room, brainstorming names for the newest member of the pack. Lydia was already talking about diaper changing duties and how the pack would raise the child together. Even Jackson seemed to get caught up in the excitement and most of the evening had found him cuddled up against his best friend, Ethan sandwiching the blond between them. If Derek took a moment to glare at the all too familiar position, Stiles wise chose to ignore it.

It was nearly one in the morning and the pair were finally falling into bed, Stiles taking advantage of Derek’s never ending heat and curling his naked side into his mate’s equally unclothed torso.

“You know, we could have a pup of our own.” Stiles spoke quietly, knowing that his mate would still here him. When the two were in their room they had a very strict ‘no eavesdropping’ policy that the werewolves were forced to follow seeing as it was a direct order from both of their alphas.

“No.” It was one word, it was the only word that Stiles ever got when it came to the subject.

“Derek, I’m strong, I know that I will turn fine.”

“You don’t know that.” Derek gritted out. “I’m tired of this argument Stiles, you know how I feel. If I lost you-” The words died on his lips as Stiles leaned up to kiss him, hard.

“You are _never_ going to lose me Derek. I’m right here. I always will be.”

“You can’t promise me that.” Derek reasons, trying to flight back, losing the battle to Stiles’ wet lips on his neck.

“Yes I can, but I promise, I’ll drop it.” Knowing that the fight had been stalled just a little longer, Derek allowed himself to relax into the kisses, moaning when he felt light hands dance across his skin. His worries of Stiles were pushed aside, knowing full well that his mate was more than with him then, his teasing mouth making it very clear that he was not about to go anywhere.

It wasn’t often that Derek allowed Stiles complete control, but after the day they had just had, Derek was more than happy to give over the reigns. Stiles was more than happy to oblige, taking his time licking and nipping at the expanse of skin. He took his time dipping his tongue into the dips of Derek’s abs.

“Stop teasing!” Derek groaned, lacing his strong fingers through the brunet’s silky hair. Gasping, Derek pushed his mate’s head further down, enjoying the startled noise he made at the rough attention.

“No fun.” The pout through lidded eyes made Derek growl deeper, the red bleeding into the alpha’s eyes and Stiles shivered. “Okay fine, enough teasing.”

It didn’t take long for Stiles to stay true to his words. He made quick work of the rest of their clothes, making sure to suck at the skin around Derek’s throbbing cock before hollowing out his cheeks, deep throating the thick, weighted cock. The choked moans only spurred Stiles on, quickening his movements.

“Stiles,” moaning and tugging on the man’s hair, Derek jerked his hips up, knowing that he couldn’t hold back much longer. “I’m gonna-” Stiles knew the noises too well and hummed his approval. When Derek came fast and hot down his throat, Stiles drank every last drop. Pulling away with a loud pop, Stiles grinned, not quite ready to let the night end. Climbing up Derek’s body, the feral grin was enough to make the werewolf’s softening erection fill with blood again. Before Stiles had a chance to brace himself, he found himself on his back, staring right up into deep, red eyes. Sharp teeth were nipping at his shoulder and toned thighs were shoving his legs open. Rough sex had been something that Derek had refused at first, firmly against hurting his mate, but Stiles knew what buttons to press (and the Discovery Channel documentaries also helped) and soon hot and dirty was about the only speed they knew.

Fully trusting his mate, Stiles allowed the rough handling, grinding up in an attempt to make his hard cock catch friction. Flashing his teeth again, Derek moved just out of his reach.

“Now who’s being a tease?” Stiles flashed his teeth to goad his lover on. Nipping harder this time, Derek broke skin, not deep enough to cause the change, but certainly enough to drive Stiles absolutely mad with want. “Derek.”

The alpha made little fuss preparing the man below him. Slipping his fingers up to Stiles, his human mate greedily sucked them into his mouth, knowing what was about to happen next. With little ceremony, Derek buried three of his fingers deep, savoring the the startled cry that tumbled from Stiles’ lips. Knowing that his mate wouldn’t last much longer, Derek ripped his fingers out, sliding his still slicked up cock deep within the warm heat until his heavy balls rested tight against Stiles’ ass.

“Move, _now_.” Derek grinned, picking up a brutal pace, slamming into Stiles, reminding himself with every thrust that his lover was still with him, he would never risk losing the love of his life for the possibility of raising his own, true pups. Pushing all of his fears aside, Derek dipped his head down to capture Stiles’ lips in a heated kiss, effectively ending the endless list of babbal that was flowing from his mouth.

“Derek, _baby_ ,” The sudden tightening heat brought on the werewolves release and Stiles came at the feeling of hot, wet cum filling him. “Oh my god you’re a _god_.”

“Eloquent as always.” Derek chuckled, settling down next to his mate. Kissing him to keep the boy from talking back.

“I love you.” Stiles grinned stupidly and Derek chuckled.

“Love you, too. Now go to sleep, the pups are going to be impossible to handle in the morning.”

“Your pups.” Stiles corrected, grinning as he rolled into Derek’s warm side, quickly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

A light knocking on their door woke Stiles immediately. Even though Jackson had not been his pup for very long he knew that it was his once school rival standing on the other side of the door. Gingerly standing, Stiles found an old tee-shirt and wiped up as much as he could before answering the door. If his nudity bothered Jackson the boy didn’t mention it.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Like they were the magic words, Stiles smiled, pulling the boy further in the room. He did notice as Jackson’s nose wrinkled at the smell, but again the boy kept his comments to himself.

“This is a safe place, Jackson, you are more than welcome to rag on Derek and I and none of the pups will try and defend us again, I promise.” The recent memories of his pups fighting with Jackson over his snark toward the alpha mom and dad were enough to make the boy lose his attitude, Stiles would have never once thought that he would miss it.

“Ew it smells like a whore house.” Jackson said, the words seeming to flow right out before he could stop them. Stiles snorted and Derek turned in the bed to glare at his pup.

“Are you going to complain or get in the bed? I want to go back to sleep.” Scrambling into the bed, Jackson snuggled up to Derek’s back. It wasn’t the first time he had slept in the bed with the two of them and since his return it had happened enough times that he was quite comfortable with the arrangement even if the two were naked, post sex more times than not. It was weird, but there was something comforting about know that his pack mom and dad loved each other very much and that they were more than willing to include him into their family.

“Good night, pup.” Stiles mumbled sleepily, kissing him on the back of the head before instantly drifting back to sleep.

“Night,” Jackson responded knowing full well that both his alpha’s were already asleep. It didn’t take long for him to join them, a happy smile stuck on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm in the process of moving, I should't be without a computer for too long, but there will be a delay in posts again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac is up for his 12 week appointment and the pack has some new, not so friendly visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said this story will be all fluff? Well oops I wrote some plot!

“Isaac you need to hold still.” Deaton sounded less than amused which of course made Stiles giggle with glee. “Derek do you think you could silence your mate?”

Derek was sitting in the corner, a ball of nerves with his eyes glued to the screen. Isaac, his two mates, and his alphas were visiting Deaton for his three month check up. While the vet didn’t quite have the necessary equipment to provide a traditional ultrasound, they made do. Isaac was laying on a cold metal table, Allison holding one hand while Scott held the other. Stiles was sitting next to his edgy mate, doing his best to calm him while keeping his own emotions in check. While Derek was acting as if this was his own pup they were coming to see developing on the screen, Stiles’ own nerves manifested in the giggles.

“That stuff is so damn _cold_.” Isaac whined, the noise sounding more wolf and less human the longer it escaped from his tightly pressed lips. Scott’s wolf whimpered in response and Allison just looked too damn tired. Pregnancy was not taking well to the golden pup thus far and he was running both of his mates ragid.

“Well if you had calmed down and let me warm the gel up first, it wouldn’t be cold.” Deaton turned back to the screen, doing his best to focus the makeshift scope that was feeding the hazy picture.

“Why couldn’t we have waited until later and had my mom sneak us into the hospital and done this there?” Scott’s question was met with glares from all sides of the room and he instantly shut up. “Okay fine, I get it, no one likes my ideas.”

If she had been getting more, regular intervals of sleep, Allison might have humored her mate, but seeing as she had spent the last few nights running after every single thing that Isaac had asked for after he had thrown Scott from their room, she was not in the mood for stroking Scott’s ego. “Shut up, Scott.”

Stiles knew that a fight was about to happen. Even at his worst, Allison always had Scott’s back. It had been something that Isaac had resented at first when they had started their tri-relationship. It had taken a lot of talking and ice cream for Stiles to make him see that the two would always share that special bond of having survived the most horrific things of their young lives together and it didn’t mean that they loved him less. So with that in mind and with the dangerous glint in the hunter’s eyes, Stiles pushed his own anxiety away and nudged Derek. The alpha had seen it too. He nodded so slightly to Stiles that it was only his close proximity and their well formed bond that told the jittery boy that Derek was more than ready to talk the two down off the ledge they seemed to be dragging the other on to.

Deaton could not help but wonder, and certainly not for the first time, how his life had become one giant soap opera.“Oh my god, look!” The wonder in Isaac’s voice made time freeze. The image was cloudy at best, but there was no mistaking the outline of the baby. The tension in the room evaporated and the first true grin that anyone had seen on Isaac in weeks was stretching wide across his face. Allison and Scott were transfixed by the picture, Derek and Stiles holding each other as if to hold in their collective excitement to keep from taking away from the three-some’s moment.

“We won’t be able to tell the gender yet,” Deaton couldn’t help, but smile. He had warned them from having an ultrasound done now, it was a relief to see that the fetus was developing healthily considering the unconventional circumstances, but he wouldn’t be able to tell the gender for at least another month and a half and he hadn’t want to get their hopes up.

“That’s okay. Thank you.” The smile on Isaac’s face made the stress of the morning worth it, though the emissary would never admit it, and the relief he felt for them at the baby’s health was wonderful, but short lived.

The phone to Deaton’s office was ringing. It was a private line that he could access in the lab, but it was really only used by the Hale pack in emergencies. Derek seemed to stiffen as soon as he heard it, using his bonds with his pack to feel out to each and every one of them, making sure that they were all okay.

“Everyone feels fine, Stiles?” The boy nodded knowing that Derek was asking about his father and Melissa. While they were not strictly pack, Stiles counted them as such and by his alpha mate powers and the magic that Deaton had taught him he had a pretty good handle on the two adults and at the very least their vitals.

"They're okay." More than a little anxious, Derek made for the phone before anyone could stop him. Even though he couldn’t sense anything, Derek was not letting anyone else take over the situation.

“There are hunters in the area.” Chris Argent’s clipped tones on the line made Derek cold down to his boots. “Deaton?”

“It’s Derek. Where are they?”

“Where is Deaton? Is he okay? What are you doing there?”

“Everything is fine, _where are they_?” Thankfully Chris knew better than to push his luck with an aggravated alpha.

“I’m not sure, I’m not as in touch with the usual channels.”

“So how do you know?” The frustration in his voice was thick enough to poison the room, the sharp taste of fear nearly suffocated Stiles and he moved to press a hand to Derek’s arm, reminding him that he was not alone, he hadn’t been alone in a long time.

“I still have a few contacts, people who owe me. Stop stalling, you get Allison, you get your _whole damn pack_ back to your house. It’s so soaked in magic you should all be safe. I will try to dig up more.”

“I am not hiding.” Derek growled back his wolf offended at the concept.

“No, you are not hiding, you are keeping your family safe. Derek you are keeping _my grandchild_ safe. _Now get your ass moving_.” The admission of his ties to the pack, that he would consider Scott and Isaac’s child his own flesh and blood, was enough to get Derek’s wolf over the ego punch and in the right direction to safety.

“We’ll contact you when we can, Chris, stay safe.’ Stiles had stolen the phone from Derek, not waiting to hear the hunter confirm, before hanging up the phone. “Deaton I’m going to lay down some pretty easy spells, I need you to do the rest.”

Stiles went to work tracing out runes on his skin with his finger. There had been a time when he had needed something physical smudged into his skin to visualize and chanel his magic, but he was long past those days. Making the same motions in the air, directing his focus first on Isaac and his pups then on Derek, Stiles lead the way out of the vet’s office, secure in the knowledge that his basic protection spells would hold long enough to get his pups home safe.

“Stiles get in the car, where are you going?” Derek was using his I-am-Alpha-hear-me-roar voice and Stiles was having none of it.

“Someone has to get my dad and Melissa. They might not be pack technically, but I’ve placed enough spells around them and on them that any hunter worth shit would understand them and trace them back to the source. Our pups are safest with you and I can handle myself.”

“You better come back in one piece.” Derek was not happy with Stiles’ decision to go off on his own, but he understood. Long gone were the days when he looked at Stiles and saw a lost, small boy that needed saving. Hell, Derek was sure that it was himself that had needed the saving all along and Stiles just played the damsel in distress act to lull Derek into a false sense of being the hero.

“You bet I’ll be back, Sourwolf, now go.” Stiles kissed Derek firmly, making sure to push his body against his mate. The adrenalin and magic that was coursing through his body was making it feel like lightning and Stiles knew that too long around the wolf and Derek’s instincts would react to his mate’s possible distress, but he couldn’t help but push his luck just a little. Just enough of his nervous energy and Derek would have the motivation to get him and their pups home in record time.

“I’ll see you soon.” Stiles made his way to the hospital on foot. It was closer and also in the opposite direction of the Manor. Stiles could feel his mental releases on his magic come undone and he knew that Deaton had activated the other powerful protection spells that were keyed into every pack member’s cell phones. Techno-magic had its advantages and it just so happened that Danny was a wiz at any technology based spell he even set his eyes on. While it might seem like they were overreacting, Stiles knew that if Chris was even bothering them with information on hunters it must be something big. Normally the man would deal with the hunters himself. While he claimed to be retired he still had many ties that went back generations and he seemed to always be able to head off trouble before it even reached the Hale pack. In return they let him be, making sure to keep supernatural happenings well off of his radar. So yeah, if Chris was calling them in on this, Stiles knew that it had be a pretty fucking big deal.

Beacon Hills was always quiet, something that normally wouldn’t bother the boy, but the silence then was just downright unnerving. Trying his best to calm him racing heart, Stiles made it to the hospital without issue. Thankfully Melissa was working the front desk, she looked to be setting her paperwork in order before clocking out. Sometimes the universe didn’t always completely screw Stiles over. He would have to remember that the next time he performed a particularly harmful spell.

“Stiles, is everything okay?” Melissa knew the drill. Most of the time when a Hale pack member came running into her ER there was a big problem. “Is it Isaac?”

“No, he’s fine, _everyone_ is fine. We just need to talk, like now.” Nodding, the nurse finished her last stack of files methodically, placing them in her bin to be filed by the next girl in. She would have to make it up to her later.

“Okay, let’s take my car and get your dad.”

“Cars might be a bad idea, for me I mean. You take the car and get my dad. I’ll meet you at the Manor.”

“Okay, stay safe.” Melissa looked at him, concern evident, but there was pride mixed in there too, and some sadness.

“I always do.” The cheeky grin was enough to bring a smile to her face and Stiles felt better knowing that Melissa and his dad would be safe soon too.

He would have to make his next stop quick. Ever since the run in with the fae, stiles had learned the advantage of keeping your dangerous magic far, far away from your home and your back. Hidden throughout Beacon Hills were stashes of magic amulets and trinkets. Stiles had gone through great and painful lengths to keep them well hidden and well stocked. He had used Lydia’s organizational skills and Danny’s techno-magic abilities to create a well defined map of the most magically charged areas in the town as well as the places where the most supernatural attacks had occurred since the night when Scott had been bit. Taking into account the areas that were most heavily attacked by the supernatural, Stiles had hidden secret caches around town. Most of them were meant to insure that the pack was never bothered by truly powerful magical beings, though there were some weapons that he could use on anything, even human hunters that would do the trick. Heading toward the Jungle, Stiles took a sharp right into the alley, steadying his breathing and keeping his eyes and ears open wide.

A black cat ran by and scurried under the dumpster. Most of the time, Stiles would laugh off modern superstitions. Of course many of them were rooted in truth, but then there were many that had nothing behind them at all. This time, Stiles could sense that something was not right about the cat. Slowly, he made is way toward the farthest dumpster, there was a weapon hiding there that had been spelled against use by anyone who was not pack. It had been heavy blood magic that went into it and the only reason it wasn’t on Hale property was because Derek claimed that it smelled funny. There were two other such weapons, a crossbow for Allison and a glock for Danny. The boy was an expert with a gun, scarily so, and Stiles? Stiles’ weapon was the most intricate. Deaton had crafted it himself. The gun and the bow were closer to the Manor, right outside of the forest line and easy for Derek to pick up along the way home. Stiles’ weapon of choice was sweeped in so much magic, so much of Stiles’ own blood that Derek refused to have it anywhere near the house. The set of curved daggers were beautiful. They were handcrafted with wooden hilts, the steel so sharp that a nick could cut through bones. Stiles treasured his babies.

Glancing back toward the dumpster where the cat was hiding. Stiles could see the beaded eyes. They were a piercing red, unnatural in the creepiest of ways. Stile would bet good money on the cat not being a cat. It seemed that the new hunters were using magic. Cursing under his breath, Stiles made a run for the mouth of the alley. He wouldn’t hurt the cat, magical being or not it was still an innocent animal. It was too far to the manor to run, but luckily Stiles knew enough shortcuts to get him most of the way. Leading the hunters back to the manor was not an option, but slowing down could mean his death.

The roar of a motorcycle from behind made Stiles whip around, his daggers held high to protect himself. The last syllable of an explosion spell on his lips.

“Are you really so strung tight that you can’t even sense your own pup?” Aiden’s voice behind the black helmet made Stiles smirk, dropping the spell and his weapons. “Hop on, unless you want to run all the way home.”

“Thanks pup.” Stiles threw his leg over the seat, sliding on behind Aiden and holding on tight. The cat from the alley was watching them, but it didn’t make a move to follow them. Stiles only wished he could take that as a good sign. “Let’s go home.”

* * *

Stiles and Aiden ripped up the drive to the Manor. The garden was Ethan’s pride and joy and Stiles did not want to imagine the lecture he and his twin were going to face. As soon as the bike came to a stop, Stiles squeezed Aiden tight as a quick thank you before bounding into the house. He could feel all of his pups and Derek through their bond, but it wasn’t the same as seeing them all alive and well.

Derek was the first to meet him, standing in the doorway of the garage with his arms folded, glaring pointedly at the dagars sheathed in his belt.

“I told you I hate having _those things_ in the house.” The snarl was enough to make Stiles shiver, but he pushed his fantasies away, now was not the time or the place.

“I know, Sourwolf, but you know we have to keep our pack safe.”

“I love it when you say our pack.” Derek smirked, crowding Stiles with his body. He cupped the smaller man’s face with both of his hands, drinking in a deep kiss.

“Whenever Mom and Dad are done, we’re all kind of waiting.” Lydia’s playful voice from the living room was as effective as a bucket of cold water.

“Come on, I know from personal experience that you should never leave Lydia waiting.” Aiden tried and failed to duck under Derek’s arm and found himself in a headlock. Ruffing up his pup’s hair Derek laughed before letting him go, the sound was like music to Stiles’ ears.

“I love you.”

“I know.”

“Oh my god, the pups have got you quoting Star Wars now! They are the best!” Stiles air fistpumped on his way into the living room, Derek shaking his head in his mate’s wake.

“Okay can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Sheriff Stilinski sat in Derek’s usual chair, his full uniform on with Melissa in scrubs sitting at his feet. They looked so natural there, Stiles almost felt like he was standing in front of his own Pack Mom and Dad.

“Scoot over.” Stiles shoved the pups sitting on the sofa to make room for himself, Derek stood behind him, suddenly sober. Isaac and Allison were cuddled up on the end with Lydia in the middle, curling up into Stiles’ side. The others were arranged around the room in a semicircle around their alphas. “So it looks like we have hunters in the area. Magic using hunters.”

“How can you be sure?” Ever the bookworm, Lydia always needed the answers and it never stopped her from pestering her alphas day and night if it got her what she was looking for.

“There was a black cat.”

“I’m sorry, what does that have to do with hunters and magic? I’m still a little new to this.” John looked confused and Jackson, who was sitting next Melissa on the floor mirrored his look.

“Some magic users can see through the eyes of animals. I can’t, but I can manipulate technology in my favor and see through any camera of my choosing. It’s a bit like that, but through animals.” Danny offered.

“So what do we do now?” Ever the planner, Melissa leaned toward Jackson, pulling the pup against her. Like Stiles, she was a natural mother and she could tell that Jackson was one of the weakest of the pups. Stiles was forever grateful that he had invited his father and Melissa into their home because finally someone else was there that would stick up for Jackson. Derek had accused him of picking favorites when the blond had first come back, but Stiles knew that Jackson had never gotten the affection that he sorely needed and Stiles would be damned if he let his pup down.

“We rely on the information that Chris gives us.” Derek spoke for the first time, hard expression on his face. “We strengthen the wards around the house and we wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is not the direction you guys expected this to go, it's not quite the direction I expected it to go either! I love all of you for reading thank you for all of your kind words! I hope you keep enjoying the story!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of a new tri-relationship in this chapter! Also things are not looking so hot for the pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how late this is! Retail around the holidays is completely insane!

Ethan and Aiden were walking the wards that morning. Every morning, noon, and night two wolves walked the manor boundaries, one clockwise and the other counterclockwise. Derek often went at night, wanting to keep all of his pups safe in the house, Scott taking the task with him both as the strongest wolf among the betas as well as to reaffirm his place as Derek’s second in command.

Since Chris’ report the retired hunter was doing his best to dig up any information on the hunters, though he was coming up short. While he still had many loyal contacts, it was obvious that this group of hunters was made of young blood. Many old hunting families like the Argents kept to their own, Allison had made it very clear that no hunting families that she knew would ever use a magic user, they were seen as just as dangerous as supernatural creatures. Not having any useful information was making Derek anxious and his anxiety was starting to seep into everyone in the house, including John and Melissa.

“The boys should be back soon,” if Melissa sounded more worried than usual, Stiles ignored it. Scrubbing his face and letting out a strangled sigh, the boy felt as young and helpless as his age for the first time in a long time. Usually his magic was not only added protection for his pack, but it also gave Stiles a sense of power and purpose. Now he just felt like his was drowning in the unknown and nothing he scryed and read in his runes meant anything. The other magic user was good and was very capable of covering their tracks.

“Cora and Jackson have duty at noon.” The least experienced and the only other born werewolf, it had been Derek’s idea to pair them together. “I want to go with them, Allison should come along too.”

“The property goes out pretty far, Son. I think it’s best if the werewolves take care of this.” John tried to reason, but the look Melissa shot him was warning enough.

“I know how big the property is Dad, I helped map it out! And if I can’t protect my pups then what kind of pack mom am I?” The shouting made John flinch and the whole manor home went eerily silent.

“Stiles, that’s not what I meant,” trying to right his obvious wrong, John knew that he was not going to get through to his son. The kid had more than his fair share on his shoulders and John knew he probably wasn’t helping.

“Stiles, you’re a great mom to your pack.” Melissa smiled gently, pulling him into a hug. Stiles felt more than let his tired body slump into the warm embrace. “You’re dad is just worried and so am I, but you’re right, you and Allison, and even Danny and Lydia should be included in keeping this place safe. You’re all powerful and willing to keep your own safe.

“She’s right, Stiles,” Derek spoke softly from the door of the kitchen. John and Melissa seemed surprised to see him Stiles had known that he was there just as soon as he had arrived. Their bond was strong, so much more so than when they had first bonded. While he was still human, Stiles’ bond and status as alpha’s mate as well as his place as pack mom and his magical abilities made it so his senses were nearly as honed as any good beta. “You have just as much power in protecting our pack as I do.”

“Derek, it’s been a week since we’ve forcibly put our pack under house arrest. Don’t you think it’s time we let them back out?” Stiles asked, untangling himself from Melissa’s hold to better face his mate

“That would be giving the hunters exactly what they want.” Derek immediately stood his ground, not willing to put Stiles or their pups in harms way.

“Maybe it’s time we start luring them out, though. I’m not saying to let them out without protection, it just seems like the hunters are waiting for us to make a move.”

“So you want us to play right into their game?”

“I think what Stiles is suggesting is to gain the upper hand. They are expecting us to get fed up and do something rash, so maybe we should play into that.” John knew that both men were under a lot of pressure, but he would not stand for Derek raising his voice to his son.

“Exactly.” The tone left no room for argument. Derek still thought that plan was extremely stupid, but he relented, rather than having another fight.

“Fine, but the outing has to be supervised.”

“Yay, a field trip with parental supervision.” Stiles rolled his eyes, not letting up at Derek’s hard stare.

“You’re not going to be going anywhere. We plan this out carefully, my way.” It felt like a standoff out of an old western only the the roles of Sheriff and Outlaw were very, very blurry. The obvious irony of having the Sheriff in the same room was not lost on Derek. “Tell Allison, Lydia, Danny, and Jackson that I need them to be ready in two hours.”

* * *

“This is crap.” Stiles’ voice sounded crystal clear over the earpiece that Danny was wearing.

“I don’t feel comfortable responding to that, Derek might be listening.” Danny whispered as he waited in line to pick up their coffee order. Jackson was sitting at the table with Allison and Lydia in a back corner of the cafe. For the record, Danny had not liked this plan anymore than Stiles had, but for very different reasons. He never really liked playing bait.

“Haha you are so funny. Derek might have super hearing, but he can’t hear what I’m saying. Anyway, whose side are you on?”

“I am also not answering that.”

“It’s okay, pup, we all know that I’m your favorite.” Danny could nearly see the grin on his pack mom’s face. Rolling his eyes, Danny moved up to the counter to collect the tray of drinks.

“Two cappuccinos, extra dry, an english breakfast tea, and an extra large, soy triple shot, caramel macchiato with hazelnut drizzle?” The barista was cute, Danny could at least give him that, but the techno witch was so far from interested and even from this distance he could feel Ethan’s jealousy, and Jackson’s for that matter.

“Yeah, that last one is not for me.” With a small smile, Danny picked up the tray and turned to walk to the table, for a brief moment he was facing the door and he could see Derek’s car, not far from the parking lot. Ethan and Aiden were sitting on their bikes in the lot down the street, The former was glaring daggers at the barista. Danny didn’t even bother to hide his grin.

“He was awfully friendly.” Jackson noted causally when Danny sat back down. No one mentioned it when the blond possessively wrapped an arm around his best friend and new mate, forcing the human to stop doling out the drinks to kiss the budding anger away.

“Tell my puppy to cool it, I can feel his anger from here.” Stiles’ commentary was more than enough to the kill the mood and the girls who sat across from them giggled at Danny’s disgruntled face.

“This is nice, being out of the house for a while.” Lydia said smartly, sipping her overly complicated latte. “Too bad Stiles couldn’t join us.”

“Tell that conniving little-”

“I think Stiles agrees with you.” Danny smirked, doing his best to ignore the ear piece. “But you’re right, it is nice to finally get out of the house.” Relaxing into the booth, Danny cradled his drink in his hand, easing back into Jackson’s embrace. The tri-relationship was a very new thing for them and Jackson was far more comfortable with his longtime best friend than with said best friend’s lover.

“A complete shame.” Jackson agreed with a grin, stealing Danny’s mug over grabbing his own.

“So how are things going for you three?” Lydia stared down the couple before her, her eyes quickly flickering to the window to where she knew more than saw her own lover watching with his twin. “Things must be interesting.”

“You just want to try out being in a tri-relationship.” Allison laughed, bumping shoulders with her best friend and co-conspirator.

“Can you blame me? Why do you guys get to have all the fun?”

“I think if one more tri-relationship crops up, Derek is going to have a heart attack.”

“Why is that, exactly? Derek seems to get really touchy every time I’m anywhere near you and Ethan.” Allison and Lydia started to giggle again and Danny looked extremely uncomfortable.

“Well you see-”

“Do _not_ tell him that story.” Stiles’ voice came through loud and clear, even the girls could hear him.

“God damn, _mom_.” Danny whined, rubbing at his ear while Jackson laughed and nuzzled into his neck to kiss it better.

“Really though, what is it like to have two mates?” Lydia pestered, Stiles seemingly forgotten. “Not that I want that, Aiden is more than enough for me.” She leered at Danny and the boy smirked right back, if Aiden was anything like Ethan then he had a feeling he knew what the girl meant. It had never been about enough though, there was something about Jackson, something that the strawberry blonde in front of him would know only too well.

“It’s very tiring. Wonderful and amazing, but very, very tiring.”

“You only think that because one of your mates is a very irritable pregnant man.”

“That sentence sounds so, so wrong.” Allison laughed, but she couldn’t bring herself to disagree. “But true, before the pregnancy things were a lot easier. Of course Scott and I could never say that we regret it. This miracle will give us the child that we’ve always wanted, the child that the pack has always wanted.”

“At least this way, there will be less complications than if you were to carry a possible warebaby.” Danny said, swapping out the empty mug for the second cappuccino that Jackson had made a point of not drinking from. Even though the relationship was so new for them in so many ways, it was the same as before, just now they were able to be as physically close as they wanted without and awkward moments. Without even looking up, he handed the mug to the blond. “Well I mean there are obvious complications, but you know-”

“I know what you mean. Of course there is the chance that something could go wrong, but at least Isaac is physically strong enough to carry the baby. As much as I wanted to carry one of their children, we knew that the risk was too great. Short of having one of them turn me, this looks like the only option.”

“If anyone is going to get turned next it should be Stiles.” Danny spoke the words that had been on the minds of most of the pack since they had all moved in together.

“No, not me.” Danny heard the quiet response and wasn’t quite sure if he was meant to relay it. “Derek had a point with leaving me back home, if something ever happened to him, if another alpha got to him, the wolves would instinctually follow that person, at least at first. With my alpha mate powers I would be able to pull most of them out of it, where if I was a wolf I would end up just like them. It’s about keeping us all safe, but I think for Derek it’s mostly about keeping me alive.”

“Do you want them to know all of that?” It the first that Danny had heard of this explanation.

“Sure.” When he repeated it to his companions, only Jackson seemed completely unsurprised.

“Yeah, Derek did mention that earlier today, but they’ve talked about that before, most recently that night-” Jackson didn’t really need to fill in the rest with _that night that I woke up screaming and went to them like a scared pup_ for everyone to understand. Danny pulled the man’s arm tighter around himself, offering what comfort he could then.

“It makes sense, even if not everyone agrees.” Allison agreed, smoothing over any lingering tension. “Plus, Danny and I can’t be the only humans in the pack, if Stiles was turned we’d be even more outnumbered.”

“Don’t forget Melissa and the Sheriff.” Danny added and he heard Stiles laugh in his ear.

“Lydia, are you okay?” Jackson’s quite question startled the two humans and both sets of eyes landed on the pale girl. She was staring at a spot of the booth just between the boys’ heads, looking without seeing. Danny and Allison hadn’t noticed that she had been quiet for quite some time, but Jackson knew her, still has intimately as if he had never left and it was obvious that something was wrong.

“She’s sensing something,” was Allison’s whispered explanation. Jackson had left before they had even known about her powers. The guilt still ate at him everytime he looked at her and saw the strong warrior that she had become instead of the charming, happy girl that she had once been. He never could quite tell if it was the werewolves or his own mistreatment of her that had made the girl turn out that way. He never could bring himself to ask.

“Is it normal for her to be in a trance like this?”

“It’s this or the blood curdling screaming, take your pick.” Stiles responded and Danny didn’t even bother to repeat it. All focus was on the banshee then and he hardly thought that Jackson would hear him if he did try and speak.

It was an eerie minute before the girl seemed to wake up from the spell, though it seemed like hours longer for the trio around her. She still looked to be in a trance, but her eyes flicked to the parking lot, sheer terror where clouded understanding had been. It wasn’t  until then that group noticed that no one was in the cafe with them, except for the barista that had hit on Danny and two men who looked built to be bouncers standing at the door, facing them with blank stares. Instantly Danny’s eyes searched out to find his mate, find Ethan or even Aiden, but the bikes were gone. Panic started to rise then and Stiles’ insistent voice came through like a shock of cold water.

“What is it, what’s wrong? Everything feels all wrong. Someone talk, say something!”

As if she could hear his pleading, Lydia’s gaze snapped back to Danny, though her eyes seemed to be trained on the nearly invisible earpiece wedged in his left ear.

“He’s gone.”

“Who’s gone Lydia?” Allison tried to touch her arm, but the girl sat unmoved.

“They have him, he’s gone.” Stiles wished then that he could jump through the earpiece and shake the girl, as it was the careful hold he had on his magic was starting to come undone.

“WHO LYDIA?”

“Derek. They have him. The hunters have Derek.”

“We do,” The barista chose then to walk from behind the counter, his pointer finger lying comfortably against the trigger of his gun. “Thank you for leading us to him, we would never have been able to pull this off without you.”

The scream that ripped from Lydia’s lips was enough to make everyone in the room stagger back. Even if he hadn’t had an earpiece in, Stiles knew he would have been able to hear it echo through the sky. Panic ate at his throat and his flesh. The last thing Danny heard before the gun shots started was the beginning of Stiles’ panic attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to try and get a new chapter out before Christmas, but we'll see! Thank you all for reading I really appreciate it!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek and his kidnappers are in the wind, but Stiles and the pack are not going to back down. Chris is finally pulled into the loop. Father and daughter finally become a team once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this post is so late! Retail during Christmas time is always a mess and now I finally have a moment to myself! Hopefully there will be more chapters to come! As always I have no beta so all the mistakes are my own.

“I want them found, _now_.” Nevermind that Melissa McCall was not their alpha, the few pups left at the manor bolted into action. John was busy digging out Danny’s laptop. The kid was a techno genius and the sheriff barely knew how to use his new smartphone, but Isaac was proving very helpful.

“Working on it Mom.” Isaac promised, his fingers wizing across the keys. “I’m turning on all of the emergency gps trackers in everyone’s phones. I doubt it will lead us to Derek, but it will at least be on if the hunters slip up.” The words were hardly comforting, but Melissa nodded. It was something.

“I’m going to go check on Stiles, when the others make it to the cafe and get back our pups let me know.” Melissa left her boys to their work, her agitated energy wouldn’t help. She made her way through the manor like someone who had lived there all her life. Stiles was up in his room that he shared with the alpha, passed out from his latest panic attack. The boy would hate himself when he woke up, he had been babbling about let his mate down when he had originally passed out.

“Melissa?” Stiles groaned, both of his hands rubbing his face. Realization hit him and he shot out of bed, looking wildly around. Melissa had to hold him down from leaping out of bed. “Where are they?”

“I sent everyone who was still here, but Isaac, as a recon team. Your dad and Isaac are safe. They’re downstairs with Danny’s laptop doing their best to assist from here.”

“I should be with them those are my pups!”

“They’re safe, Stiles. They have each other. Why don’t we go downstairs and help them out. I’m sure Isaac is getting tired and you’re the only one who could possibly wield the magic that Danny created.”

“Okay. Let’s get to it then.” With Melissa’s help, Stiles made his way down to the living room. He was still shaky, his breath not quite even from his attack, but he was determined to help his pups and his mate and he’d be damned it anything stood in his way.

“Mum!” Isaac smiled kindly when he saw his pack mom. “Just in time I know how to navigate this thing, but damn this is intricate magic.”

“Okay kiddo, let me see.” Stiles took the laptop, taking a moment to wrap the boy into a tight hug.

“We’re going to get him back. Derek is going to be fine.”

“I know he will, we’re just going to have to find his ass and save it. Another normal day in the Hale pack right?”

“You bet.” The grin they shared seemed to lighten the alpha mate’s mood and he cracked his fingers setting to work.

“I’ve got all of them located. Looks like the twins are on the move. Get them on the phone dad.”

“Any other time I’d ask for a please,” John cracked, fishing out his phone.

“ _Please_.” Stiles glared, his eyes never leaving the screen. “The bait team is still in the cafe. Danny’s bug is offline, we have to assume that someone in the cafe is a magic user. They can’t be that strong though because the gps system is still online. Oh no, nevermind I just lost them.”

“God damn it.” John swore, getting up and pacing the room. “The twins aren’t answering either. We need to get to that cafe.”

Stiles’ phone rang before he could respond.

“Hello?”

“Stiles? Oh good, we’re okay, Cora and Jackson chased off the two big ones, we couldn’t capture them, we’ve got the barista though.” Allison’s voice was crystal clear and calm as ever. God Stiles loved her.

“Barista?”

“It’s a long story, we’re on our way to the safe house. Can you get my dad along the way? I think we need him on this.”

“Yeah, why?”

“It’s not safe on the phone, the hunters are definitely working with powerful magic users. Meet me there. I’ll see you soon.” She hung up before Stiles could reply.

“Are they okay?”

“They are, but we’re on the move. Dad can you and Melissa stay with Isaac? I’ve got to get Chris and meet them at the safe house.”

“Shouldn’t someone go with you?” Melissa asked as Stiles stood and she took his place on the couch, snuggled up to the pregnant pup.

“Why? I have plenty of backup.” Stiles’ grins nearly as frightening as when he sharp blades flew through the air and landed in his hands. “I’m getting my mate back, don’t you guys worry about me.”

* * *

 

“Where’s my daughter?”

“Hello to you too, Chris. She’s at the safe house. She’s fine.” Stiles put his jeep back in drive as soon as the door was closed. With a few well placed words, the car shook with magic for a moment before the feel disappeared again. “Protection spell. It’s good against all other magical beings, and car accidents. It’s a handly little trick when you’re outrunning an enemy.”

Chris seemed satisfied by the explanation, not bothering with his seatbelt. The kid said he was safe and he’d much rather have the ability to jump and run at a moment’s notice if necessary. He trusted that his daughter was safe, not on the word of the big bad alpha’s mate, but because he knew his daughter.

“What do we know?” Skipping all niceties, Chris was all business. Stiles was grateful for that he couldn’t hand the pity or consoling, he also wasn’t sure that Chris was capable of that.

“Well you figured that they had to be young. I think you’re right. When they were getting coffee the barista was hitting on him. Then Allison said that they had the barista and were taking him to the safe house. Now Danny is a good looking guy so him getting hit on is really nothing, but Ethan and Jackson got jealous. Now Jackson is very protective so that I get, but Ethan is generally reasonable so that leads me to believe that he was reasonably attractive himself and young, otherwise Ethan wouldn’t have cared.”

“That’s all based on a few flirtatious words?” Chris asked, incredulous. He knew that the kid was smart, but even that seemed a bit of a stretch.

“I know my pups, Chris. I know them like they were my own children. Ethan’s gentle behind the macho exterior. He doesn’t do the whole possessive thing with Danny, he wouldn’t have let Jackson in if he was, but that’s not the point. The barista, I’m willing to bet you, is going to be no older than me.”

“No need. I believe you.” The hunter looked at Stiles with a new sense of understanding. Whether it had been college or the responsibility of being a pack mom, Stiles had really grown up into a well rounded man.

“Good. Now let’s go figure out where they took my mate.” The jeep came to a jerking halt in front of a perfectly normal looking home. Stiles rummaged around the center consul until he found a remote, pressing the button and waiting for the garage door to open.

“Stiles? Why is that remote glowing?” Chris eyed the thing like it was about to explode. For all he knew it would.”

“Magic.” Was the only answer he got. Stiles was grinning then, driving the jeep through the opening door, making sure to close it behind them. The lights flickered on completely when the door latched and magically locked. It looked completely unassuming and Chris almost thought that Stiles had officially lost it. “This way.” The hunter followed the boy through the door and into the house. From the outside it had looked like your normal suburban house, but the inside told a different story.

“What is this place?” Chris asked before he could stop himself. The house looked like a fully stocked panic room. The windows were boarded up. It was obvious that high levels of magic were humming through the air keeping the facade up for the neighbors.

“We rent out the other half of the house to keep suspicions down.” Stiles said like it was the full answer.

“Who on earth would you trust enough to rent out to?”

“Harsh, Chris.” The voice from the other side of the room made both men look up.

“Marin? Deucalion’s old emissary?”

“Deaton’s younger sister, I’d rather be remembered by that.” The woman smiled not seeming to be offended in the slightest. “As fun as this, the huntress is downstairs with the rest of the pack and they didn’t look very patient when they came in.”

“Thanks Marin.” Stiles grinned, nodding toward another door. “This way. Oh and Marin, don’t mind the screaming, we’ll try and keep this short.”

“I don’t mind one bit, I’ll go strengthen the soundproofing runes.”

“Good or not, that woman has always given me the creeps.” Chris muttered as he followed Stiles down to the basement.

“I heard that.” The cool female voice drifted down the stairs and Chris cringed.

“She cheats, heightened hearing spells.” Stiles explained. “Anyway she’s right, you know Al she won’t wait for us.”

The basement looked just a bare as the rest of the house. Most of the pack was assembled there, all eyes on their captive who was sitting in the center of the room. He was bound and gagged, a circle of what looked like mountain ash caging him in. Jackson and Danny were sitting in the corner with Lydia sitting sandwiched between them. Cora and Scott were against the other wall with their eyes trained on the hunter. The twins were also there, pacing and growling around the circle. Allison stood in the center of it all, arms crossed, cold look on her face. When Stiles and and Chris cleared their throat, all eyes fell to them, except for Allison who was all too happy to continuing her staring contest.

“We did the best we could with the runes. We figured you would do the rest.” Danny motioned toward the floor. He was clearly favoring his left arm and Stiles instantly worried.

“What happened, pup?”

“The fire fight. Danny got scraped by a bullet in the crossfire.”

“I’m fine, Mum, don’t worry Jackson took the pain.” Danny waved the whole thing off like it was nothing. “Lydia and I set up the runes the best we could, but we didn’t want to interrogate him until you finished it off.”

“Good call pup.” Stiles checked Danny over himself, before turning back to the hunter. He was young, didn’t look to be over twenty. Chris rolled his eyes at the boy’s shit eating grin.

“If you want to hold him in and keep all other magic out, you’re going to need to strengthen these runes with blood.” Stiles took one of his poisoned knives and made a small cut in his palm. He had long since built immunities to the many spells and poisons in his daggers. Dripping his blood over the existing runes in a tracing pattern, Stiles finished off the spells with little more than a blink of his power. “It’s done now, Al you’re going to need to take off his gag, no one with magic can enter the circle now.

Nodding her understanding, Allison dropped her bow on the table behind her, stepping over the line to ungag the younger hunter.

“You’ll never going to find him.” The boy spat as soon as he could. The echo of Allison’s slap made even the twins wince. Chris might have even been smugly proud, but then again he had a lot of reasons to be so if the once ragtag group of kids around him had anything proved that his daughter was more than capable of handling her own.

“Wrong.” Allison growled doing a great impression of her werewolf lovers. “You have _my_ alpha. You have my pack mom’s mate. We are not going to stop until we find your group, not until we dismantle it from the inside out. I will personally tear you limb from limb if that’s what it takes, but you’re wrong. We will find Derek and when we do you’re going to wish I’d gotten the chance to kill you because nothing will compare to what Stiles is going to do to you when I break the magic barriers down.”

“Damn.” Chris muttered, falling back to lean against the wall next to Danny and Lydia.

“Yeah, she’s pretty scary when she wants to be.” Danny grinned, not the least bit upset by the threats pour out of his pack sister’s mouth. “Still nothing compared to Mum when he’s upset, but then again she learned it from somewhere.”

“You can do whatever you want to me, but I will never give them up.” Allison had a knife on the bastard before even the wolves could track it. She was getting faster with her training, having two powerful mates only helped that along.

“Stop, Al.” Stiles casually walked further into the room, right over his own warding line without a flinch.

“How is that possible?” The hunter sputtered. Fear was slowly creeping into his veins, Stiles could practically taste it.

“You didn’t think that those little spells would stop me? Blood magic is nothing in compared to what I can do.” Stiles patted the huntress on the shoulder in a mock of a tagout. “Now tell me what I want to know before I make you.”

“I’d like to see you try. I will never give up the Family.”

“Wait did you just say the Family?” Chris barked before Stiles had a chance to try out any of his undoubtedly colorful torture tactics. The hunter seemed struck by silence then, his eyes were cast down and he refused to look up to face the enraged hunter.

“Who’s the Family?” Stiles asked, his voice low. He eyes were still trained on the tied up hunter, but he looked up when Chris growled.

“They’re a rising hunter group. They’re not an actual family though, just a bunch of lost kids who think they’re doing the world some good.”

“That’s because we are, we’re going to wipe this town of your filth even if-” Stiles backhanded the hunter so hard that his jaw snapped.

“Let him be. Someone can heal him later when he decides to talk.” While Derek was gone, Stiles’ word was law and all of the wolf members of the pack whimpered their understanding. “Come on, Chris I want to know everything you know about this so called Family.”

The group followed their leader back up the stairs, Danny and Allison stayed behind to watch the hunter. They were the only two humans there so they did not have to obey Stiles’ command. The pack would fill them in later for now, they would make sure nothing happened to their only lead to finding their alpha.

* * *

 

Derek awoke to the feeling of electric shocks pulsing through his veins at inconsistent intervals. His vision was blurred, but not obscured. That did not bode well. Derek often found in kidnapping situations that the more you saw the better your chances were at being killed. The dull pain was a quick and uncomfortable reminder that he was not dealing with an amature.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” The voice was cold, female to be sure, and familiar. Doing his best to get his damn eyes to focus, Derek’s gaze met his captor’s. She was petite, there was no way that she could have taken on Derek alone. Her eyes were dark, her skin darker. She couldn’t be more than sixteen.

“I’ve been seeing you around town for months now.” Derek was slowly piecing it together. They had known that the hunters after them were younger, they had been using magic based tactics, something no older hunters would have been able to stomach. It would only make sense that they would have infiltrated the town by now. He just hadn’t expected them to be so young.

“Let’s give a medal to captain obvious.”

“You and those kids at the coffee shop. You’re all part of the group hunting us.”

“Blah blah blah, I didn’t bring you here to _talk_.” The last word was emphasized with the voltage being turned up. A blood curdling scream ripped out of the alpha’s mouth. The huntress bitch only smiled on. “Your pack is growing strong, too strong. The Family thought it was time to take you down.”

“Now, now Camilla,” A deeper, more sultry voice came from another room. Derek was able to see past the pain enough to catch a door open and close from the shadows he hadn’t noticed, “that is no way to treat our guest. Hello Derek, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Derek knew then that he had to be in a nightmare. That was the only explanation for the Kate Argent look a like staring him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I love all of you guys for the kudos and comments! You guys are amazing!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to learn a little more about the Family and Stiles gets to be the night in shining armor!

“Who are you?” Derek growled. He hadn’t been drugged, he would have felt it moving through his system. The woman in front of him looked like Kate, but she didn’t sound like her. She was too young by far.

“Your worst nightmare, Derek. I am going to make you pay for what you did to my family.” Where Kate had been beautiful, her body made of soft skin and hard edges, this girl still looked like a teenager, baby fat making her cheeks round and rosie. If he had to guess she would be not much older than the younger members in his own pack.

“You mean this sad group of hunters? My pack has never done anything to them.” Derek spat back, not giving into the the madness. He would not back down so easily and showing any form of weakness would only get him killed sooner. He was not a hunter of the most powerful pack to see Beacon Hills since before his own mother for no reason.

“Not them, idiot. My family, my real family. You killed my half-sister and my dad and for that you’re going to pay.” The girl’s face contorted in her rage.

“Wait what? Half-sister?” Derek gasped, it made no sense and yet he knew then he was not hallucinating. The girl must look like a mix of Kate and Allison for a reason. “You’re an Argent?”

“Right again.” The cruel smile that curled across her face sent chills down Derek’s spine. “Turn up the voltage, Camilla. I want to hear him scream.”

Derek felt the pain course through him, but he bit back the pain. He would not give in and let them have the pleasure of hearing him scream. Wave after wave of electric shock ran through his body until he hardly thought that his body could take it anymore. His vision began to blur and the cold laughter resonating through the room began to fade out.

“Let it go, we don’t want to kill him, yet.” The voice seemed too far away then that Derek could hardly hear it. As he slipped into unconsciousness, Derek could only think one thing, _Stiles, I know you’re smart, figure this out and find me._

* * *

The pack was seated in Marin’s side of the safe house, crammed into her small living room. Isaac, Melissa, and John were listening in via skype, both Marin’s and Danny’s computer were warded with enough protective magic it made normal hacking encryptions look like child’s play.

“I don’t know a lot about the Family, unfortunately. They had just begun to form about the time you would have all been in early college. With her pack ties, Allison would never have been a good fit to try and scope them out and I’m not young enough. They’re made up mostly of kids, I’m willing to bet a few of them even go to the high school now. They use magic, something that no hunting family has ever condoned, at least not so opening, and they are dangerous.”

“What do they want with us? Excluding the incident a few years ago, we’ve hardly had any large scale supernatural run ins.” Lydia asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? We’re one of the most talked about packs on the west coast.” Aiden answered before Chris.

“What do you mean?” Stiles cut in, more than a little confused.

“The Hales, when they were in their prime, had been part of a large group of packs which agreed to be allies in return for protection from anyone outside of the were community.” Chris explained, forgetting just how young the pack was. While they might act like a natural family, as most packs were, they were still very young. “Kali and likes were once all a part of it, but not any more. Now you’re a lone pack on very old, very powerful ground and you have no allies to speak of.”

“How come Derek’s never mentioned it?”

“He was young when he mom died, he was never meant to be the alpha, he would have been second to Laura and so Talia most likely never told him.” Marin supplied, having her knowledge as an emissary.

“But I remember the alliance. I was even younger, that doesn’t explain why Derek wouldn’t remember.” Cora added in from her spot squished between Jackson and Lydia.

“You remember, but would you have thought to bring it up to the pack? You and Derek are born wolves, it would have been so natural to you it might not have even been something you deemed worth mentioning.”

“That’s true, Cora, you’ve never mentioned it to us either.” Jackson nodded, in no way accusing the girl. For her part, Cora simply shrugged and nodded back.

“That’s not the point now, though.” Chris brought the focus back on to the problem at hand. “We have no way into this new hunting family, no way for us to figure out who is part of it.”

“Well you said that they are all kids, why is that? Where are their families?” Isaac asked from the computer screen.

“That’s the interesting part. For the most part they’re orphans. The whole reason they call themselves the Family is because most of them don’t have any. It all started when supernatural things took a few kids parents. The leader, whoever they are, started to pick these kids up and train them to fight. Most of it was so underground that no one really knows who the leader is. Most think she is someone that lost her family in a very horrible supernatural accident, but I’m not so sure. Either way she manipulates the kids into believing that the only way to avenge their loved ones is to kill ever supernatural being in sight.”

“Then why are they using magic? That’s supernatural.” Lydia asked and this time Ethan spoke up.

“You know the saying fight fire with fire? Well pretty much they think that they can use the forces that took their parents to avenge them. The Family was only really getting big while you guys were away, they’ve been underground for a long time, though.”

“We had a run in with them,” Aiden added, “right when we lost our alpha powers and right before we became a part of Scott’s pack we ran into a very young hunter. It wasn’t a big thing, we ended up subduing him and Ethan convinced me to let him go. He said something about the Family then, but honestly I’d forgotten all about it.”

“So if they were close enough to harass the twins all those years ago, why are we only hearing from them now?” John asked, ever the sheriff.

“Strength in numbers, we have to assume. They wouldn’t have massed such a huge attack in broad daylight otherwise.”

“That’s true, when we were in the coffee shop most of the patrons seemed to be normal people, but everyone working there was certainly in on it. I think it’s worth it to research who owns that shop and if they’re either involved or if they’re okay.” Jackson looked to his Mum, concerned that he didn’t react to the word research. “Mum?”

“I heard you, sorry I was thinking. I’m going to do down there, Allison and Danny need to know what’s going on. Ethan, Aiden, come down with me? I want to have a talk with the hunter.” It escaped no one’s notice that Stiles asked for Aiden who had the worst temper and would be the most likely to help hurt their captive and Ethan, about the only person would could pull his brother out of it and make him and their pack mom calm down.

“What are you planning on Stiles?” Melissa asked, voicing the concern that everyone in the room felt.

“I’m getting answers and then I’m getting Derek back. No one else is to follow us down, and Chris?” When the hunter turned to face the man he nearly flinched at the sheer amount of magic intensifying the air around him, “if you even think of following me then I will magically bar you from this house.”

“You got it.” Stiles nodded and stood, making sure the twins were following him back down to relieve the humans and find his mate. Stiles would be damned if he let his mate slip through his fingers and he did not need he worried pups to keep him from forcing the information from the kid they were holding captive.

“What’s going on?” Danny asked as soon as he saw his Mum making his way down the stairs.

“Mum wants the two of you topside, we’ll take it from here.” Aiden answered, Stiles was too consumed by his magic to answer.

“Okay, just be careful.” Allison moved away from the mountain ash circle, placing a gentle kiss on Stiles’ cheek.

“Oh, we’ll be fine.”

“I know that. I meant be careful that you don’t let Mum kill him. We don’t need to stoop to the Family’s level.” Ethan nodded for the both of them and they watched as Stiles walked calmly over his own magical wards once more.

“I know your jaw’s broken, but you’re going to talk through it. If you answer all my questions without much trouble I’ll even let one of my pups heal it.” Stiles whispered knowing full well that all of the werewolves in the house could hear him just fine. “Where are they keeping Derek?”

The boy remained silent, his glare more than speaking for him. A sly grin spread across Stiles’ lips and even Aiden shifted uncomfortably beside his twin as they watched from outside the ring. Stiles extended his hand, pressing it purposefully into the boy’s jaw drawing a pain filled hiss. Turning his head until they locked eyes, Stiles spoke right into his ear. “This is going to hurt, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

With one of his most powerful spells spilling from his mouth, Stiles closed his eyes and allowed his magic to take hold. He never liked to pour so much of himself into his work, often feeling tired for days, but they were out of options. The boy was whimpering, he might have even been begging for Stiles to stop, but the man could no longer hear the world around him. He was completely enveloped by the magic working around him, forcing his way into the boy’s subconscious, digging around for any clues of the location. It was a dangerous spell, any novice in the art could easily find themselves lost in the mind of another and should that happen it would be nearly impossible to bring them back out. Stiles knew the risks, but with his experience delving into his own subconscious in the past he knew that he would be able to manipulate his magic and the boy until he got the answers that he needed.

Flashes of memories ran by Stiles, first of the boy’s childhood, a car accident that had taken his family’s life. There had been a nest of faeries involved, something Stiles would never wish on his worst enemy. He saw the boy’s first encounter with the Family, another young boy who happened to be in the same foster home. The memories became harder to focus on after that. They were training him to keep his mind blocked from magic and Stiles was holding onto the passing visions with all of his might. Their arrival at Beacon Hills was next; the boy’s day to day life at the high school, his job at the cafe. Then, quite suddenly, an old run down house in the far end of the reserve came into view. There were kids everywhere, mostly young teenagers though a few looked to be Stiles’ age. Overwhelmed by the magic protecting his recent memories, Stiles pulled back and out of his mind, eyes wide when he realized he’d been screaming.

“Stiles? Stiles are you okay?” Allison was at his side, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Danny was busy ending the powerful spells keeping the werewolves and Lydia away from their alpha’s mate, and as soon as the circle was broke, Stiles found himself surrounded by a tangle of limbs and worried children.

“Water, Al.” Stiles croaked and a bottle materialized in his hand before he could see who had handed it to him.

“Guys give him some space, someone make sure you’re watching the hunter.” Chris advised from the door and just as quickly as the hoard of bodies had surrounded Stiles they were gone. Lydia and Allison were leading him against the wall while Danny shooed everyone out of the circle of mountain ash to seal their captive in again. From the looks of him, he was in no shape to make an escape, passed out cold, but they could not afford to take any chances.

“What did you see?” Lydia was kneeling in front of him, holding both of his hands between her own.

  
“The house where they’re keeping Derek. It’s on the edge of the reserve, not really our territory, not really anyones.” Stiles coughed out and Lydia urged him to drink more water.

“I’ll go and stake it out.” Chris offered, holding up his hand before anyone could protest. “They know that I’m a hunter, that Allison is my daughter, but if they’ve been keeping tabs on all of us, I’m the only one here who hasn’t been in and out of the manor or the inner circle of Hale property, I’m the best chance we have at finding the place and you know it.” His eyes were trained on Stiles, he knew enough about pack dinamic to know that even though Scott was Derek’s second in command, Stiles was the alpha until they could get Derek back.

“You’re right. But when you go, I want Danny to fully arm all of your electronic devices, they’re strong magic wielders and I’m not taking unnecessary risks.” Stiles nodded, feeling Allison tense beside him. “He’s right, Al, you know I would never put your Dad at risk if I thought he wouldn’t be okay. Danny and I will make sure you charm his phone and the bug, we’ll up the magic so it’s even better than the one Danny used and you can let him use your weapons if you want. Your shared dna should be enough for the magic to recognize him to let him use them.”

Allison nodded, her lips thin, but she knew that Stiles was right. Her Dad might very well be their only hope in this situation and they were going to need more information on the house and the possible traps that lay ahead before they could run in and steal back their alpha. If Stiles could be level headed enough to see that than she would have to be too.

“Okay, now that that’s settled, let’s get started.” Chris said, heading back up to the main level with Danny close behind, Stiles following with Scott and Lydia’s help.

* * *

It came as a surprise to Derek when he woke up. His entire body ached and it took a minute from him to blink to the pain to remember where he was and why he felt like he’d just been run over by a mac truck or ten. He was still strapped to the chain link fence, and how many times had he thought that in his life? The electric generator was back to a low, uneven hum, shocking him randomly to insure the healing process was slow. It took him longer than he was comfortable to admit that Kate’s look alike was sitting in the middle of the room watching him.

“You’re awake, that’s rather impressive.” Derek knew better than to respond and instead kept his gazed focused on her. She was obviously missing a few screws, but it was already obvious that she has a narcissistic streak that would have made Kate look like a martyr. “I would have thought our little lights show would have had you out for much longer, but then again you don’t become the alpha of California's strongest pack for nothing.”

The last statement was news to Derek, but he kept his face hard, giving away nothing. He knew that his pack had risen in the ranks fast. They all lost too much too soon for being so young and while they might not have all fought on the same sides in the past, they had all fought together. They knew each member’s strength and weakness like they were their own and as a unit Derek had never seen a group work and fight so well together, even when his mother had been alive.

“You had to assume that someone would notice?” It was posed as a question, Derek merely grunted in response. He was hardly surprised when the girl pressed a few buttons and a powerful shock made his muscles seize before it was gone. “I bet even now you’re pack is working my poor hunter over for information.” Derek didn’t doubt it one bit. Stiles, the most human of them all, would most likely be the most animalistic. The thought should have unsettled the alpha, but Derek couldn’t help the pride that swelled in him.

“Who are you?” Derek knew that this girl loved to talk, loved hearing the sound of her own voice more than Stiles did when he was still a kid and that was saying something. He vaguely remembered her mentioning that she was an Argent before he’d passed out, but that hardly answered his questions.

“Andrea Argent, bastard daughter of Gerard Argent and a witch.” The sneer on her face was back then, though Derek could hardly tell if it was for her mother or her father. “You must know that getting me to talk won’t work, you’re pack is never going to find you and you’re going to die before you can run off and tell anyone who I am.”

“Then why don’t you just tell me?” Derek coaxed. “I can tell you’re just dying to tell someone. I bet not even all of your hunters know.” She looked lost at his words, more like a child than the manipulative mastermind that was the head of a secret organization.

“My mother was a powerful witch, the head of her coven. Then one day Gerard comes by to lay waste and instead ends up raping her. When he found out she had me he came back to finish what he’d started. He kept me alive to groom me into the perfect hunter. He always said that his family would never understand the great that could come from using magic.”

“So you turn your powers into hurting supernatural beings? Shouldn’t you be blaming the hunters?” Derek asked, incredulous. He broke his stoic look, completely lost on what to think about the situation. Had she taken her life in a different path Derek could even see feeling sorry for the girl, but with how she chose to use her magic he couldn’t help but despise her.

“I don’t need to justify myself to you! You have no right to judge me-” Her voice continued to rise until she suddenly stopped speaking, confusion and what looked like fear colored her face.

“Andrea what happened?” Camilla called, running into the room.

“They broke through the spells, they’ve found us.” Andrea whispered, her focus back on Derek. This time she didn’t even bother to use the electricity, cutting off the voltage completely before wrapping her hands firmly around Derek’s neck. “How powerful is the druid in your pack?”

“Which one?” Derek gritted out, full well knowing whom they meant.

“You’re mate! How powerful is he?” She screamed, her nails digging into his exposed throat.

“Our emissary stopped teaching him years ago, said something about him being ready for high druid status.” Derek all but grinned, flashing his red eyes and teeth as she let go of him, stumbling back.

“Camilla get the others out. NOW!”

“What about him?” Both girl’s eyes fell on Derek and he growled low.

“Leave him,” at his answering growl Andrea added, “we will come back, don’t you doubt it and when I do I will tear you and your back apart limb from limb.”

Derek responded by letting out his alpha roar. His powers were starting to slowly make their way through his veins. He was too hurt to make an escape any time soon, but he would be damned if he didn’t bring his pack down on them. The pair ran from the room and Derek finally felt his wounds beginning to heal. He could feel his pack, feel the way they were gearing themselves up for battle. Knowing that help was on the way, Derek allowed his body the rest it craved. His head dropped to his chest, sleep overtaking him.

* * *

“They seem to be on the move.” Chris whispered, hoping that the unfamiliar bug in his ear would still pick up n his low tones. He was hiding in the forest, just far enough away not to trigger any of their traps, but close enough that through the enhanced scope of his daughter’s shot gun he could see just fine.

“What do you mean on the move?” Stiles’ voice was clipped brooking no room for argument. Chris held his tongue knowing full well the stress that the man must be under.

“I mean that there are a lot of cars leaving suddenly and it looks like they’re all jumping ship.”

“Why would they do that?” This time it was Cora’s voice, just on edge. Sometimes the pack forgot that she had just as much right if not more to be aching in Derek’s absence.

“I’m not sure, what do you want me to do?”

“Wait, we’ll be there soon.” Stiles responded and the connection went silent. Before Chris could react, he was surrounded by the more powerful wolves in the back, knowing full well the humans would arrive via the twins’ motorcycles, more proof that Danny could wield techno magic better than anyone had a right to.

“We wait for Stiles and then we go in.” Cora instructed. Looking to the twins first she added, “you two should go through the front with Stiles, Jackson and Danny can take the left, Allison Lydia and I the right. Chris and Scott take the back.”

The humans and Lydia arrived then, their motors silent and untraceable. While the old house seemed abandoned, they were not taking any risks.

“Does everyone know where they’re going?” Stiles asked as he slid from riding bitch to Lydia. He hardly waited for a response. “Good, then let’s get Derek back.” Stiles took to toward the house with Ethan and Aiden close behind him. Light on his feet, the alpha’s mate made his way through the front of the house with ease. It was worn down to the point where it took little effort for Stiles to see through exposed beams to his pack entering on all sides. With a quick nod, Cora, Lydia, and Allison fell in line with Stiles and began to head toward the basement while the remaining went up the rickety stairs in search of clues on the Family’s next move.

Allison opened the door first and she and Lydia peered down into the empty, dark hallway. Closing her eyes and getting a good feel for the house, Lydia shook her head. She couldn’t sense death anywhere in the house. A sigh of relief threatened to escape Stiles, but he wouldn’t celebrate until they found Derek and brought him home. Cora took the stairs first, her nose turned up as she searched for her brother’s scent. The rest followed, down the stairs and through the hallway until they found themselves in front of a large iron door. Cora pulled the door open with ease, the smell of sweat and urine instantly permeating the air.

“Oh my God.” Cora’s gasp made all present stand on edge and they spilled into the room, horrified to find their alpha strung up to a chain link fence, passed out cold.

“Derek?” Stiles tried. Even to him his voice sounded foreign. It sounded far too old and scared to be his own. At the sound of his voice, Derek’s head slowly began to lift, eyes half lidded.

“Stiles?” The pack ran as one to their alpha, but only Stiles and Allison could get near him, the others hissing as the mountain ash circle around him was finally noticed. “They cuffs, they’re soaked in it too. I can’t get out.”

Allison fished out two of her regular daggers, dropping all of her magical weapons and handing one to Stiles as he did the same. Together the two made quick work of the binds. As soon as Derek’s arms were free, they fell limp around Stiles’ shoulders and the two sank to the ground buried in the other. Allison cut the mountain ash line and Cora ran forward to join her brother.

“I knew you’d come.” Derek whispered as Stiles babbled reassurances in his ear. “I knew it.” The strength drained from him as he slumped even further in Stiles’ arms, his weight being supported by Cora as well.

“I’ll go make sure my dad brings the truck around.” Allison says, brushing a hand over her alpha’s shoulder and walking from the room.

“You’re just fine now, I promise.” Stiles repeated continuously, tears falling freely now that he knew his mate was safe. “I swear to you we will find them and make them pay. You’re going to be just fine.” Derek allowed his body to slip into the sleep it desperately needed knowing that with his mate there he would be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who as been reading! It means a lot to me to see all your comments and I know that I'm horrible at replying to everyone, but just know that I really appreciate it!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More pack feels and finally some of that fluff that I promised...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay pack feels! Thank you everyone who keeps reading, I can't believe I'm almost done with this fic!

“I want answers. _Now_.” The pack as a whole had returned to the manor. Derek had been brought up to his room to heal and while Stiles had stayed with him through the night, morning found him wrestles and he was sitting in the living room, venting his frustration in an informal pack meeting. Cora looked just as agitated as Stiles, but she let him have the floor, never being one for words.

“Stiles, we all want answers, but these things take time.” Melissa did her best to reason with the boy, but it was obvious that nothing was getting through to him.

“ _Screw time. I can make time!_ ” Stiles bit back. He instantly regretted it, knowing that Melissa far from deserved harsh treatment from him. “I’m sorry, Mel.”

“It’s alright, dear, I know you’re just stressed.” Melissa smiled gently and Stiles started to wind himself up for another theory to rain hell on the Family.

“Stiles, no more time magic, we talked about this.” Derek tried from the doorway. All eyes fell to him and Stiles visibly relaxed. he had been so worked up he hadn’t even know that his mate was there. “Not after the last time.”

“Do I even want to know?” John wore the face that he always seemed to when conversation pertained to any of his son’s past escapades with magic and the supernatural that he was not already privy to.

“No, I would think not.” Lydia answered for them. She was sitting on the couch, Stiles having just been wrapped in her arms. She moved then, allowing Derek to take her place. There was some slight shifting to make room for the alpha before conversation could continue. Stiles firmly planted himself into Derek’s side, beckoning Cora to join them on her brother’s other side. Lydia took the floor in front of them, her arms wrapped around Stiles’ legs. When they were finally situated, Derek spoke again.

“I agree that we need answers, but there are some things we need to go over first.” Derek sighed, knowing all too well the volatile nature of his pack and how they would handle the information. He laced his fingers in Stiles’ hand first, drawing strength from his mate and their bond, knowing that by the end of it all he would need it more than anything. Cora shifted in his arms then to press her side firmly into her brother’s offering whatever comfort she could without vocalizing it. Again Derek found himself forever grateful that at least one member of his family had lived to be a part of the new family that he’d created for himself. “I know that this is going to be hard for you to believe, but at least let me tell you everything before you come to your own conclusions. I was ambushed at the coffeeshop. I’d had a feeling something was off with the barista, but before I could alert anyone, four hunters came out of nowhere. They were young, most likely seventeen or eighteen. They didn’t pose a threat, but I also didn’t want to turn in the middle of the day and cause a huge scene, especially with you guys in the shop. Before I could get a real handle on the situation, four more of them turned up, I think they were one of the groups in the cafe, but I can’t be sure. Either way the magic knocked me out and I woke up in that basement. At first a young girl, her name was Camilla, was talking to me, I couldn’t really see anyone else, even though I could hear them, something about the magic again I think, and then this is where it gets weird.” Derek then did his best to describe his interaction and conversation with Andrea in the quickest way possible, seeing the anger boiling up over Chris’ face.

“You can’t be serious.” Chris accused as soon as Derek had finished his very long speech. All of the wolves and Stiles glared at the hunter knowing full well that their alpha would never lie.

“He’s dead serious, what reason would he have to lie?” Jackson questioned, ever protective of the man who turned him and then welcomed him back with open arms.

“It’s okay, Jackson, he has every right to suspect me of lying, it doesn’t sound possible, but I’m telling you exactly what I saw, what she told me.” Derek spoke and the pack listened. He still could hardly be considered a man of words and when he did speak everyone instantly listened, pack or not.

“Well why would she have told you in the first place?” Allison asked, not doubting her alpha, but confused as to why someone who seemed cautious as the Family leader would spill all of her motivations and plans to the enemy.

“That’s a good point, why did she tell you everything?” Isaac asked from his seat sandwiched between his mates. Scott was carding his hands through his curls while Allison rubbed his growing belly.

“I don’t think she suspected for me to come out of the experience alive.” The discomfort that flew through the room was enough to sulfocate the group into silence. Cora pulled her brother into an ever tighter embrace, fighting Stiles for as much of the man that she could hug. “Whatever magic you performed was powerful Stiles, it had her scared enough that she left me. What did you do?”

“Whatever I had to in order to find you.” Stiles grit his teeth, leaving no room for the conversation to continue. The two exchanged a look that told Stiles that he would have to fess up to his mate sooner or later, but at least he was giving him an out now. Stiles hardly wanted to relive the memory, much less make his pups relive it. He knew that they all knew what he’d done, it was very dark magic, and Stiles knew it would not sit well with Derek. It hardly sat well with himself. “They didn’t happen to tell you where they were going next while they ran away did they?” Stiles knew the answer, though, and didn’t bother to wait for it. “We’re going to have to figure this out, research the shit out of them until we find out where they’ve run to.”

“We should contact packs in other cities too,” Cora suggested, “when mom was the alpha she used her network to keep us all safe. It’s not too late for us to try the same.”

“That’s a great idea, I could help you with that,” Stiles agreed over Derek’s chest, “and Derek can help too.”

“Good. While you guys do that some of us can dig up whatever we can on the family, hopefully the hunter will be more cooperative when he wakes up and we can piece together who some of the members are,” Lydia added as she smoothed out her skirt, accepting Aiden’s offered hand to stand. “We can get started in the study, if you need us.” Ethan, Jackson, and Danny followed out the commanding redhead leaving the packed livingroom much emptier.

“My dad and I can start to search through Gerard’s things, he left them in the old storage shed and we’ve never looking through it.”

“I can help, if that’s okay.” Scott looked to the older Argent and the men nodded slightly, his expression grim, but accepting.

“Why don’t I come along? I could do with some old fashion detective work and I’m going a bit stir crazy here.” John offered his assistance, winking to Stiles while the others weren’t looking. Stiles knew that with his dad there, any possible fights between Scott and Chris would be avoided.

It wasn’t long before Stiles found himself relocated to the manor’s large kitchen. Derek and Cora sat at the table with him pouring over a laptop, one of their mother’s old journals open between them. They hoped that the packs which were around when their mother had been the alpha would still be intact and willing to work with Talia’s children. Of course the major packs were long gone, the reign of Deucalion and the alpha pack taking care of that, but Deuc was still out there and that was one of the main reasons the two were arguing.

“I don’t trust him!” Cora shouted, throwing her hands up in frustration.

“I never said I did, I just think he could help!” Derek roared in his sister’s face and Cora flinched back. She had never backed down from her alpha, never showed him fear, but this time was clearly different.

“ _Enough._ ” Stiles growled, his eyes flashing green momentarily from all of the pent-up magic humming through his veins. “Cora, look at me,” Stiles dropped to his knees, drawing the girl’s gaze to him by cupping her chin in his open hand, “don’t you ever think Derek or I would lay a hand on you. You know you’re safe here, we would never bring Deucalion anywhere near this home or this pack.” The born wolf relaxed instantly into her pack mom’s touch and Derek instantly felt guilt hit him.

“Cora, I’m so sorry.” Derek tried to reach out to touch her arm, but Stiles’ easily and quickly deflected him. Turning to level his mate with his gaze, Derek knew just how badly he’d messed up. “Stiles, I lost my temper, I’m sorry.”

“I know, Der, but you have to remember that family comes first, pack is all we have, and as much as I agree that Deucalion could have been a good ally in another life, we are not putting any of our pups in danger for this. I want them taken down just as badly as you, but not at such a high cost.” Thin fingers wound themselves around Stiles’ wrists and turned back to Cora, surprised to see tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Thank you.” Cora whispered, pulling Stiles into a tight hug. “You’re the best thing that could have ever happened for this pack.” Stiles felt his cheeks go pink at the words, but he easily wrapped his arms around the girl, a small smile playing on his lips.

“He really is.” Derek agreed quietly from behind them, sliding to the floor to wrap his sister and his mate into a tight hug.”

Upstairs in the library all conversation stopped at the sound of Derek’s roar. Ethan, Aiden, and Jackson tensed while Danny and Lydia looked toward the door, not sure what to expect. The tension radiating from the first floor seemed to disappear as soon as it had come and everyone visibly relaxed.

“Should one of us go down there?” Danny asked. Lydia shook her head immediately, using her powers to feel out any possible danger to her pack, whether it be from their own or not. “No, they feel fine now. What are they saying?” Lydia directed her question towards the three werewolves in the room who all looked enchanted by what they were hearing. The door opened before Lydia could ask them again and Isaac walked through with Melissa right on his tail.

“Crisis averted, Stiles is taking care of it.” Isaac spoke like it was no big deal that their alpha had just roared at his own pack member, but then again they were under a lot of stress and Isaac was nothing if not very forgiving of Derek’s moods. He had lived with the man before anyone else had, back in their high school days, and sometimes he still understood the alpha’s moods better than the others.

“Well that’s good, you’ve come to help?” Lydia’s tone left no room for arguments and she handed the pregnant wolf a heavy tomb. “Miss McCall, did you want to help me translate this text? I could use a transcriber.”

“I told you already Lydia it’s just Melissa, and I would be glad to help you.” The woman joined her at one of the corner desks where Aiden was sitting around a large number of old books. Danny was set up in between his mates at the table next to them, his fingers fly across the keyboard of his laptop. The flash drive plugged into his laptop was Allison’s, the Argent family bestiary.

“What do you think you’ll find in old books?” Melissa asked curiously, seeing how easily the pack moved around each other. It warmed her heart to see Jackson’s hand glide over Danny’s shoulder while Ethan pressed a gentle kiss to the blond’s cheek. She knew from Stiles’ complaints that Jackson had had a very hard time fitting back in when he’d first arrived. It was hard to tell now that just a few weeks ago the blond had been treated poorly by the pack that now seemed to warmly welcome him. She’d known that Danny had been instrumental in getting the rest of the pack to welcome him as well as Allison and Stiles. Lydia and Jackson even seemed to be more comfortable with each other now and Melissa knew without a doubt that it had everything to do with Stiles being a strong parental figure to his peers. Even the twins seemed more a part of the pack than she had ever seen them. When they’d first arrived, even Stiles had a hard time trusting them, but over time they’d proved again and again that they cared and Stiles’ big heart would not allow unfair treatment of anyone of his pups. Aiden and Lydia were a fairly new item once again, they’d only just begun officially dating again two years ago, despite the the tension between the two existing all the way back to when the twins returned to the high school. Lydia had forgiven him when he’d been brought into the pack, but it had taken much longer for her to trust him again. For his part, Aiden showed his love for his mate in everything that he said and did. Whenever Lydia wasn’t looking Aiden would through her fond looks, but if she knew Lydia as well as she thought, then the banshee always knew when her mate’s eyes were on her.

“Well we don’t know a lot about Allison’s family. Their bestiary will not only tell us what they’ve come across, but also the state of mind of the people writing in it. Mostly it was written by the men who actually experienced the supernatural, while the women would annotate it. Some of the Argent women were hands on in the hunting like Allison,” the echoed like Kate didn’t need to be said, “and some were more behind the scenes like her mother. Either way, we are hoping that Gerard’s writing will give us some clues as to who Andrea’s mother was. As for Aiden and I, we’re working on identifying the spells and magic that was used by the Family based on what we saw both at their hideout and first hand by the magic that Stiles had to break down to get the information from the hunter. If we can figure out what spells they used, we can figure out what level the druids are in the group and if any of them have changed over to darachs. Stiles made it clear that any magic users who were not already turned evil should be spared and saved. He’s hoping to get to the younger ones in time that they can be relocated, hopefully into packs if we do end up setting up a network again.”

“Seems like you kids really have a handle on this.” Melissa smiled, settling down across from Aiden, pen in hand. She couldn’t help the pride that swelled through her, knowing just how well the children had grown up despite the lives they were forced into. “Well then, let’s get started.”

“The other’s are coming back.” Isaac spoke from the armchair, his cellphone in hand. “Allison and them, they’ve got everything they can from the storage unit and are on their way back.” Being pregnant had put the wolf on edge, but since his check up most of his nerves seemed to settle and he was becoming more relaxed. If the lack of Scott sleeping in the guest room meant anything, he’d made up with both of his mates and now Issac just seemed to cling to them, becoming more territorial than normal. He’d hated being left behind, even though he’d known that it was necessary.

When the four returned from the storage unit, the pack found themselves in the library together. Stiles, Derek and Cora were working together on the rug, Cora wrapped in Stiles’ arm protectively while Derek lay next to them, his hand alternating between changing the window on the laptop to skating over Stiles’ arm. Allison and Isaac were curled up on the loveseat together, pouring over Gerard’s journal while Scott, John, and Chris were standing at the table behind them, pouring over books of spells and a map, hoping to find a viable location spell that didn’t boarder on dark magic. The rest could be found exactly as they had been before, soft music playing out of the radia in the far corner of the room soothing the pack.

An excited shout from Lydia’s corner of the world brought all eyes on the trio pouring over ancient books of magic. The strawberry blonde stood up and stretched, dancing a little to get the blood flowing back into her legs. She was obviously spending far too much time with Stiles, her normally polished reputation breaking with the easy way she seemed to open up and become more childlike just like the man who was racing to her side.

“What did you find?” Stiles was excited, even the magic residing in him hummed happily and made his eyes glow slightly.

“It’s a location spell, it doesn’t even require blood, we not really anyway.”

“What does that mean? Does anyone else not like the sound of that?” John asked, echoing the feelings of all of the human adults in the room.

“It means that there doesn’t need to be any bloodshed,” Lydia explained, her expression turning serious and any playfulness left her posture entirely, “but it has to be done by someone with blood ties to the person we’re looking for.”

“Easy. Allison can do it, she’s done a few spells and I can walk her through it.” Stiles grinned, ready to finally get the show on the road.

“It’s not that easy.” Lydia said, her eyes skimming the text again. “No it can’t be Allison, she’s too removed, it’s only her half aunt after all.”

“So I have to do it.” There was no question in Chris’ voice. His jaw was set and his expression determined. “Stiles you’re going to have to walk me through this.” Stiles looked at the older hunter closely, trying to catch any signs of deceit.

“The first step of any spell is believing,” Stiles warned, “believing and meaning for the spell to work with every fiber of your body.”

“I know that.” Chris gritted his teeth and it made all of the wolves growl.

“Oh cut it out, he doesn’t mean it.” Stiles rolled his eyes at the pack as a whole. Chris seemed to realized that baring his teeth to an alpha’s mate was not exactly the smartest idea, especially being in the middle of their home.

“Sorry.” It wasn’t necessarily an ingenuine remark, but there was still fire behind it. Stiles simply smiled, taking the translated text from Melissa.

“Well let’s get started then, if we’re lucky we’ll have the spell done by the end of the night.”

The pack cleared off a table and ran about to get the necessary ingredients. Luckily for Chris most of the spell was measuring out the ingredients and mixing them, there was hardly any words to it and he made the concoction with ease.

“Are you sure there is no blood necessary?” Chris asked, looking down at the dark liquid mix before him.

“Honestly?” Stiles asked and the hunter nodded back. He wanted this done the right way the first time. “Well you could prick your finger and drop some blood in. In almost all magic blood always helps, it’s a part of the druid that helps tether the spell and even can stabilize it in some cases. You don’t have to though, it can also drain the caster considerably.”

Chris took out a knife and pricked his thumb without further question. He let it drip into the bowl before wiping his bleeding finger on his jeans.

“Ready?” Stiles asked and Chris nodded, all of the pack was surrounding them then and instead of feeling the pressure, Chris found himself extremely glad. In a single motion, Chris tipped the bowl’s contents onto the waiting map, striking a match and dropping it into the pool of liquid. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but he was not disappointed when the flames completely engulfed the and went out, leaving the state of California untouched, another burn mark indicating a small town, just a days drive north from Beacon Hills.

“I found them. I know where they are.” Chris pointed down at the map, triumph screaming on his face loud enough to send a silence through the whole manor. Everyone stared at the map, amazed that it had worked. Stiles even looked a bit proud.

“We end this,” Derek commanded, breaking everyones train of thought, “tonight.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter and then I'm off to the next installment. I can't tell you much about it, except that I've been eluding to the idea of the next fic for a while now and I'm so excited to finally write it! Anyway, I've got the last chapter of this before we get there and finally some more answers... sort of.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Most of the pack travels north in an attempt to get answers on the growing hunter issue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I can't believe this story is over! **_Please please please_** read the notes at the bottom of the chapter, they are **SUPER** important!

“Stiles we are not having this conversation again.” Derek tried to reason with his mate calmly, but even he knew the effort was futile.

“And I told you, you are not leaving me behind again.” Stiles growled. Even before he and Derek had mated his wolf impressions had been pretty spot on. Now they just sounded genuine and even a little frightening. “How could you just leave me home?” The pain in his mate’s voice was enough to break Derek and he sat on their bed, hands covering his face.

“Stiles it’s not about leaving you behind. I need to make sure that someone is here that I can trust. I need to make sure that my home is safe.” Derek’s voice was completely wrecked and it surprised Stiles into taking a moment to assess before reacting.

The stress of being an alpha came with the territory. Derek never complained and took care of their pups without question, it was one of the many reasons why Stiles loved him. He was always over protective of his mate and often the human found it offensive, but this was the first time that Derek ever expressed the reason to him for staying behind that didn’t paint him into the damsel in distress. When thought about in this new light, it almost seemed selfish to put himself out there with the rest of the pack when no one would be there for the injured or pregnant members of the pack. Stiles seemed to understand what he meant then and he knelt before the alpha, moving the large hands from his beautiful face so he could look into the glowing red eyes.

“Sourwolf, what do I always tell you about using your words?” Stiles laughed softly, his eyes flashing green for a split second again before he tilted his head, exposing his neck for his mate. The wolf within seemed more than satisfied with the apology and Derek dipped his nose into the soft skin, sniffing and scenting his mate to calm himself down. “I will always stay behind if it means keeping our home and our family safe, but you have to tell me these things. I just don’t want to be left behind in the tower like some stupid, helpless human.”

“You are never those things.” Derek growled, his wolf agitated at the words being said by his own mate. Stiles shivered feeling the power and protection coming from the alpha. He drew his arms up to wrap around the man and pull them even closer.

“Good. You’re going to need to go down there soon if you ever hope to get this hunt done and over with. I’ll strengthen the wards here and Danny and I can assist in anyway possible.”

“Lydia stays too.” Derek sighed, knowing that fighting the banshee would be just as hard as convincing Stiles to stay behind, but even with her strengthened powers, without Danny or Stiles to help keep her grounded she was more liability than help.

“I’ll go talk to her. You’re going to have to convince my dad to stay behind if you don’t want his help though. You’re like another son to him and you’re crazy if you think he’s going to let them get away with what they did to you.”

“If they want to become pack, this might be the perfect opportunity.” Derek was right, but Stiles wasn’t crazy about the idea. He also didn’t want to fight with Derek anymore than necessary, especially when he would be leaving soon and he relented.

“Okay, fine. I’ll go talk to Lydia.” Stiles felt through his connections to the pack. Like Derek he was able to locate each member, but it wasn’t as strong as Derek’s and it took a little longer for him to find Lydia’s presence in the back of his mind. Giving it a little mental tug, Stiles left his room and moved to the study which was thankfully empty.

Lydia found him in the center of the room, staring into the empty fireplace. She walked up to her alpha’s mate and wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Derek wants me to stay behind doesn’t he?”

“You need to tell Aiden to stop eavesdropping, it’s not polite.” Stiles laughed, though it lacked humor. “I’m sorry Lyds, but without Danny or I-”

“I get it,” Lydia interrupted his no doubt long winded speech, hugging the boy closer, “someone has to make sure you and Isaac don’t burn down the house out of boredom.”

“Hey, that’s not even fair. We set one fire and no one ever lets it go!” Stiles grinned, turning to hug Lydia back, placing a kiss on the top of her head. Despite not being werewolves, they both knew the scenting motions well and Lydia nudged her head up, rubbing her nose from the base of Stiles’ neck to the back of his ear as a sign of love and affection. While each pack member smelt the most of their own mate, every member was encouraged to scent each other to keep the bond of the pack alive and strong. Stiles, being the alpha’s mate, smelt the most of pack without needing the extra scenting, but he loved feeling so close to his pups. “Come on, we should see them off.” Lydia pulled away and smiled up at Stiles before nodding and leading the way to the front of the house.

The front room was packed with people. Isaac, Allison, and Scott were whispering in a corner, Isaac wishing his mates a tearful good luck. Melissa and John stood with them, both being respectful of Isaac’s moodiness. The twins were talking with Derek and Cora while Danny and Jackson went over the many magic enhanced gadgets that the former had made for the group. Chris stood off to the side seemly out of place from the rest. As soon as Derek saw the pair at the top of the stairs, he excused himself and made his way toward them. He stopped to scent Lydia first, pleased to smell his own mate on her, before letting her join her mate and the rest of the pack.

“Good luck out there, you better come back to me in one piece.” Stiles sighed and nuzzled Derek’s neck. He knew their pups were respectfully turning their ears off, giving the pair some privacy. “That goes for all of you, you know.” Stiles said loud enough that they would all hear him easily. “You keep them safe, you hear me?”

“I promise nothing is going to happen to any of them, or me.” Derek whispered back. He could feel the anxiety and fear rolling through his mate’s body and he wished it was the kind of pain he could take for him.

“You can’t promise that, but I trust you.” Stiles sighed, untangling himself from Derek with a small smiled. “I’m going to wish all my pups good luck, you better make sure you have everything.”

Stiles made his way through the crowd of werewolves in his entryway. Each of his pups responded to him differently and he had varying relationships with all of them. It was a careful balance, one that Stiles kept with ease and it was one of the reasons why it had been so natural for him to take on the role of pack mom. First were the two pups that need the most of his attention. He placed a kiss on Cora’s and Jackson’s cheeks when the came right up to him. Both for their own reasons were extremely attached to the human and he was always honored by their love and trust. Next came the twins. He hugged them together, though they were certainly each their own person. The relationship with Ethan had come easily, but Aiden had been more reluctant. Even now he let his twin scent the boy first, quick to follow, Stiles scented them both back quickly, happiness filling him when the held him just as tightly back. Disentangling himself from them Stiles made his way over to the first tri-relationship in the pack. He fist bumped Scott first, before breaking down into a fit of nervous laughter and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. No matter what happened he and Scott would always have a bond of brotherhood that would only come from growing up together. Allison was last on his list, but certainly not the least. She got a hug and a kiss too, though Stiles lingered longer in her embrace, placing subtle spells on her weapons to strengthen the protection runes already within them.

“Don’t think I didn’t see that.” Allison laughed fondly and Stiles grinned right back.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Stiles ended his rounds staring down his father’s fond smile and Chris’ equally frightening frown. Without prompting John wrapped his son in a tight hug. While Melissa and his father were still not pack, they would undoubtedly smell like pack for the close involvement that their children had with the Beacon Hill’s pack was enough to give them a small scent for protection. Stiles nudged at his neck with his nose, it was the least invasive scenting motion to make sure that he wasn’t making the man uncomfortable, but his dad mimicked it right back and Stiles grinned. When he pulled away, Chris was still staring at him with a frown. Most of the eyes in the room were on the two. It was customary in their pack and in werewolf etiquette to show respect to an alpha’s mate, sometimes even more so than to the alpha him or herself. Stiles was more than gracious with his affection and he had no issues with hugging his pups, even when some were newer to the group than others, but his actions toward the older hunter had always been frank, businesslike. No one was sure how he would bestow his luck and blessing on the man.

Stiles stuck out his hand, smiling gently when Chris took it and shook firmly.

“There is always a place for you here, Chris. It’s just up to you if you want take it.” Stiles loosened his grip, swiping his thumb over the man’s wrist in a practiced action that was not lost on the hunter.

“What was that?” His voice was even, curious, but not accusatory.

“It’s like scent marking, not a spell by any means, but it’s a symbol of good luck. You might be my pack, but you’re Allison’s father and that’s more than enough for me to count you as one of my own.” The explanation was short and honest. Stiles gave the man the space he need to process the words by turning to face his pack. “Danny and I will be on the comms. Lydia, Melissa, and Isaac will be helping us as well so if anyone needs anything don’t hesitate to say so. I can’t promise that a lot of my spells will work, but some of the weaker long range ones will have to do. No one is going to do anything stupid and absolutely no reckless heroism. Watch each other’s backs and come home to me in one piece.”

Alpha or not, Stiles’ word had always been law in their pack and everyone nodded back to him to confirm that they understood implicitly what was expected of them. They filed out, each brushing their hand over Stiles’s arm as they left. Derek brought up the rear, dropping one more kiss on his mate’s lips.

“I’ll see you soon, love.” Derek whispered and Stiles smiled back, nodding.

“See you soon, sourwolf.” The doors closed with an echoing thud and he felt more than saw Danny appear at his side.

“Come on, we’ve got some time before they need us and I want to make sure all of the electronics are up and running. Glad for the distraction, Stiles followed Danny from the room, knowing full well the others were right behind them.

Danny and Lydia were busy setting up the computers in the study while Stiles took the time to snuggle up with Isaac. With all of the action going on he’d hardly gotten the time to check on his pup and the newest addition to the Hale pack. Without having werewolf senses, Stiles had to assume that the newest pup was already bonding to him, like it had to Derek. Isaac hummed happily as Stiles whispered to the pup, promising love and protection in their pack.

“The baby already knows your pack mom.” Isaac laughed, running one hand down his stomach and the other down Stiles’ arm. “I can already feel the bond forming. I bet if you tried really hard you could too.” Stiles did his best to concentrate and feel for another link in the back of his mind that hadn’t been there before. At first the only new bonds he could feel were those of his own parents, but with another quick look he could feel another one that he couldn’t place the feeling too.

“I think you’re right.” Stiles said in awe when he opened his eyes. The smile on his face was so bright it nearly burned.

Time passed slowly while they waited for the pack to get to the location. Stiles spent most of his time talking with Isaac about the baby to keep his nerves in check. Melissa flitted in and out of the room, mostly making sure that they all ate and slept, forcing them to watch the laptop in shifts, though no one left the study. They all took turns sleeping on one of the couches. As expected it took nearly a day of driving for the others to reach the town marked on the map and nearly half the time to figure out where the Family was holed up.

“Okay guys talk to me.” Stiles said from his spot in front of the main laptop. He was directly patched to everyone’s headset and knew that one of them would at least calm him down by hear their voice.

“They seem to have a better base setup here. I think they’ve been here for a while because when we floated the name Camilla one of the girls at the gas station said she just graduated high school and she was under the impression that she’d gone away for college.” Jackson’s voice was clear through the comm unit and Stiles’ relaxed instantly.

“Thanks pup, what’s the plan?”

“We’re going to have Cora, Allison, Aiden, and Ethan stakeout the place while the rest of us hang back a few miles, they’ll be fully armed of course.” Derek responded next and he heard some of the other pack members affirming the plan with slight hums.

“We’re going to get them on the move in an hour, so you guys have time there to set up any long range spells that you can.”

“Thanks Scotty.” Danny responded and started to let his fingers fly along the keys of his own laptop. “I’m enabling the gps trackers, I’m also starting the cloaking spell in all of your phones that should at least get you through any anti-magic bubble that they might have around the compound. I also have it set so your phones will record the human’s vitals and send it back to us so we can make sure everyone is holding out okay.”

“Okay good.” Derek and Scott responded at the same time, causing nervous laughter throughout the comm frequency.

“Allison can you make sure that all of the runes are still active on your weapons? I’ll talk you through reactivating them if necessary.” Stiles spoke next, Danny quickly patching their frequencies to a private line so the two could work in relative peace.

“Derek, can you open the link between us more? I want to see if I can get a read on anything dangerous in your area.” Lydia asked, her eyes closed as she did her best to clear her mind and feel for the connection she had with her alpha. Using the connection for the banshee to detect danger even when Lydia was not physically there was something knew that the pair were working on and while it didn’t always work, it worth the shot and it also helped her practice.

“Sure thing, give it a go now.” Derek’s voice was soft, he would never admit it, but he had a soft spot for the fierce woman who helped his young mate run their pack without any issue or question.

“Okay,” Lydia took a deep breath, focusing on the strong bond she felt to the man, letting her senses take over as she felt her way around their environment. “You guys must be in the right place, I can feel all kinds of foreign magic floating around. It doesn’t seem like there is too much to worry about. If anything I would think that they’re not expecting an ambush in their own territory so all spells are probably cursory at best.”

“So you’re saying prepare for defensive magic, not offensive?”

“I would say so, yes.” Lydia opened her eyes as she let the connection fade. “Either way, I’m not feeling anything disastrous, so the four of them should be okay to scout it out.”

“Alright we’re all set with Al’s gear, I think it’s about time they move out.” Stiles said, back on the main comm line again. “Good luck guys.”

Choruses of “Yes,” and “Sure thing Mum” were music to Stiles’ ears and he couldn’t help but bubble up in pride.

The next hour seemed more than slow going and Stiles kept as quiet as possible, snuggled up next to Danny as they stared down the eerie glow of the laptops. Lydia and Melissa were moving in and out of the room to get air away from the tension, though occasionally Melissa could be found at Stiles’ side, her arm wrapped firmly around him seemingly leaching his tension. It had the same feel to the wolves taking pain and just like that day in his old kitchen, Stiles found himself wonder how she could do that without being a wolf, but it was once again neither the place or the time. They would have plenty of time to figure that out when his pack was home and safe.

“It’s too quiet, it’s like the house in the forest all over again.” Chris mumbled breaking the thick silence and John could be heard agreeing with him. “Is it possible that they were tipped off again?”

“Not unless the hunter we captured was able to tip them off.” Scott answered. While it was obvious that it was said as an afterthought cold dread filled Stiles as he disentangled himself from Danny and Melissa. They had moved the barista who would still not give his name to the basement of the manor after making sure to strip him of any magical artifacts. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to perform spells if he was strong enough, but they kept him drugged most of the time and Stiles was sure that there was no way for him to reach out to the Family.

“Stiles where are you going?” Danny asked surprised, Lydia right on his heels.

“I’m going to go check on the wards in the basement, I want all back up on location in ten minutes. Be prepared for anything!” Stiles barked his orders while Lydia followed him out the door and down to the secret basement entrance off of the main sitting room.

“Stiles, slow down.” Lydia hissed, ripping her comm unit out of her ear and dropping it down before entering the basement stairwell. Stiles had already done the same, the basement was so well warded that even their own magical devices which were cloaked in intense camouflaging runes would set off the manor alarms. “For all we know keeping him drugged was what triggered the necessary spells to warn the family. We’ve never gotten anything from him before now, why would he start talking?” The fact that Stiles had used very dark magic to rip the information from the boy before hung over their heads and Stiles just pushed open the door, Lydia’s comments swinging away from his mind with it.

“How did you warn them?” Stiles growled as soon as his eyes landed on the crumpled hunter.

“Why should I tell you?” He sneered back. He often didn’t even respond to their questions so Stiles took the words as a victory of sorts.

“Because we found your hideout in Smith River.” Stiles grinned, flashing his teeth and eyes like he’d watched his mate do time and time again.

“Holy shit, you’re a high druid.” The exclamation clearly slipped from the boy’s lips and he clamored to schools his features blank again, but Stiles had seen more than enough fear to dig into the boy.

“That’s right, so you must know that I can pull the information from you again, or you can just tell me.”

“I don’t know how it works, honest!”

“What makes you think we would believe that?” Lydia asked from her perch beside Stiles, staring him down with one of her signature bitch stares that had always made Stiles more than a little afraid.

“I really don’t! It was an initiating thing! They put us all under some weird spell that is always running in the back of our heads. I don’t understand it, I swear!”

“He’s telling the truth.” Isaac’s voice behind them startled the pair, but they did well to hide it. “His heart is racing and he’s fighting off panic. There is no way he knows what they did to him.”

“Okay, then we leave him alone for a bit again.” Lydia slipped down from her seat and looped her arm with Isaac. Stiles lingered looking at the shaking hunter and Lydia touched his arm with her free hand. “Come on, Mum, we can sort him out when Derek gets back.”

Stiles wordlessly followed them back up to ground level, each picking up the comm units and putting them back on.

“Okay guys we’re all back.” Isaac spoke first. “Can you tell them the same thing you told me?”

“Sure, the place is empty, just like it was in Beacon Hills. They’ve even left another captive behind.” Cora reported back.

“She’s a wolf for sure, unconscious. We were just talking about what we should do,” Ethan followed up.

“Can you tell if she has a pack?” Danny asked as the three re-entered the study.

“She’s a beta, no doubt about it. Derek thinks we should bring her back.” Scott supplied before the alpha could respond.

“What do you think, Stiles?” It wasn’t required of an alpha to ask their mate for advice, but the two had always been like that, even before they’d started their relationship. Derek always valued all of their opinions, but he held Stiles most sacred.

“That’s your call, sourwolf, but if you think she’s someone’s beta then it would probably be best if we take her in and track down her pack.”

“Okay, well we’ll see you all back at the manor soon.” Derek replied and Stiles sat back at his laptop, changing the channel so he and Derek could talk a little more privately.

“The hunter said that they each have a spell placed on them when they join the Family. I don’t know if I can crack it without actually hurting him.”

“Well we can always ask Deaton, but maybe with other packs we can figure this all out.” Derek sighed back, frustration evident in their lack of results. “I don’t think I’m going to get any rest until this is all over.”

“I know, sourwolf, but we’re going to have to try. Now get your furry ass back home now, yeah?” The soft laughter on the other end made Stiles smile.

“Sure thing, Red. I’ll see you real soon.” Danny ended the connection to all of the comms when Stiles gave him the signal and suddenly the room seemed much emptier.

“We’re going to have to make up a room for the wolf.” Lydia commented to no one in particular. “She can stay in the west wing, for now.” The west wing was reserved for the betas and any guests while the east wing held the master suite for the alpha and his mate as well as the smaller suite for the second in command. There were a handful of guest suites as well for the possibility of visiting alphas. Melissa and John currently had the honor to stay in the east wing closer to their children.

“No, set her up in the east wing, in the guest suite right off of my bedroom. I want to make sure I’m there for her when she wakes up.” Stiles sighed, knowing that if he left their equipment out overnight someone would get to it in the morning. “I’m beat I say we head to bed.”

Isaac retired to his own room with Danny right behind him. Without his mates, Isaac was more than a little moody and Danny was more than happy to help his brother out by staying in his room with him. Even though they had the house spread out in two extra wings, most of the betas moved around, sometimes staying in their own suites and other times turning the master suite into a large slumber party so Stiles wasn’t in the least surprised when Lydia followed him back to his own room.

“Goodnight, guys.” Melissa smiled before entering the guest room just down the hall. The intimacy of pack was often overwhelming for humans who hadn’t grown up in a wolfpack, but to their credit Melissa and John either weren’t in the least bit fazed by it, or their politely turned a blind eye. While the intent was for the pair to integrate into the pack slowly, the danger of hunters had forced them to move in temporarily. While they were still not technically pack, it was obvious that if they chose to be so it would not be a hard transition.

In his own room, Stiles found Lydia already dressed in Aiden’s flannel pants and oversized shirt. Despite only being November it was already chilling in northern California and without the heat of their wolves, it would be a welcome comfort to share the bed with someone. Stiles changed unabashedly. With the intimacy of pack came the inevitable peaks of skin. All of the wolves minus Jackson were able to transform into their wolf forms fully and seeing his pups naked when they turned back was just part of pack life. Fishing out his own night clothes, Stiles crawled into his side of the bed, Lydia already snuggled into the pillows on Derek’s side.

“Smells like home.” Lydia sighed happily at the scent of her alpha. Stiles didn’t know how to respond and so he simply pulled her closer. “When they get home I was thinking about talking to Aiden.” Stiles nudged her to go on, when she didn’t immediately continue. “I know we’re still new to this, it hasn’t even been that long since we mated, but I was thinking that maybe more pups is exactly what this pack needs.”

“Are you serious?” Stiles asked, eyes wide. “It’s a big step, Lyds, you have to make sure it’s more than just the pack you’re thinking about.” Stiles rubbed circles up and down her back, trying to keep his excitement checked.

“No I know that, and I am serious,” Lydia smiled. “You can’t tell anyone though, not until we’ve talked.” She gave him a sharp look, knowing all too well how Stiles let all of his emotions get away from him.

“I know.” Stiles grinned, excitement coursing through him in waves. He wasn’t in the least surprised when he heard his phone go off.

_From Sourwolf: Everything alright over there?_

_To Sourwolf: Yup, everything’s perfect! I can’t wait for all of you to come home! :)_

Stiles put his phone back and pulled the girl even closer to him.

“Goodnight, Stiles.”

“Goodnight, hun.” Stiles smiled, drifting off into an easy sleep. No matter what the future had in store, Stiles knew that he had his family, his pack, and no one was going to take that from him.[  
](google.com)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DON'T WORRY I AM WORKING ON THE SEQUEL!
> 
> With that said here are a few very important things for everyone to know. I am going to post the next part of the story here, while I am also going to be working on another series that will be all of the pack's college break experiences. The name of that series will be [I Built the Pyramids For You, Babe](http://archiveofourown.org/series/70372) and will be updated at the same time that I update this series. I decided to split the stories into two series so I could tell everything in chronological order. One HUGE difference between the new series is that all of those stories will be written so they can be read stand-alone if desired! I should have the next story in this series and the next series up very soon! If you want more frequent updates follow me on Tumblr! My multi-fandom blog is [purplepen76](http://purplepen76.tumblr.com/) and my Teen Wolf blog is [obrienismyalpha](http://obrienismyalpha.tumblr.com/)!


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